User Guide Ulead Systems, Inc. March 2001
First English edition for GIF Animator version 5, March 2001. 1992-2001 Ulead Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or storing in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form without the prior written permission of Ulead Systems, Inc. Software license The software described in this document is furnished under a License Agreement which is included with the product. This Agreement specifies the permitted and prohibited uses of the product. Licenses and trademarks ICI Library 19911992 C-Cube Microsystems. Ulead Systems, Inc., the Ulead logo, Ulead GIF Animator, PhotoImpact, VideoStudio, and MediaStudio Pro are trademarks of Ulead Systems, Inc. All other product names and any registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned in this manual are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners. Sample files Files provided as samples on the program CD can be used for personal demonstrations, productions and presentations. No rights are granted for commercial reproduction or redistribution of any sample files.
North & South America: Ulead Systems Inc.
http://www.ulead.com E-mail: info@ulead.com
International: Ulead Systems, Inc.
http://www.ulead.com http://www.asiapac.ulead.com http://www.ulead.com.tw E-mail: info@ulead.com.tw
Europe: Ulead Systems GmbH
http://www.ulead.de E-mail: info@ulead.de
Japan: Ulead Systems, Inc.
http://www.ulead.co.jp E-mail: info@ulead.co.jp

Table of Contents

Introducing Ulead GIF Animator.... 4 Whats new..... 6 Getting started..... 8 Installation..... 8 Running the program.... 8 Customizing how you work.... 9 GIF Animator at a glance.... 11 Introducing the interface.... 11 Working modes in GIF Animator.... 12 For current GIF Animator users.... 14 Tutorial..... 15 Creating an animation project.... 16 Introducing the UGA project file.... 16 Creating a new project..... 16 Using the Animation Wizard.... 17 Starting out with an image, animation or video file... 18 Setting the canvas size..... 18 Working with objects..... 20 Adding image objects..... 20 Object Manager Panel.... 21 Manipulating objects using the Tool Panel... 23 Adding a shadow..... 30 Managing multiple objects..... 31 Working with frames..... 33 Frame Panel..... 33 Banner Text..... 36 Adding Banner Text..... 36 Using Plug-in filters..... 38 Using Video F/X..... 39 Optimizing your animation.... 41 The Optimize mode workspace.... 42 Optimization process.... 43 Previewing your work.... 45 In the Edit mode.... 45 In the Preview mode.... 46 In a Web browser..... 46 Saving & exporting.... 47 Saving your work..... 47 Sharing your animation.... 50 Index Editor..... 52 Appendix: GIF color palettes.... 54 Shortcuts..... 55 Index..... 56
ULEAD GIF ANIMATOR USER GUIDE
Introducing Ulead GIF Animator
Ulead GIF Animator is a powerful GIF animation tool for creating high impact animation for Web pages, presentations, and multimedia titles. From composition, editing, and applying special effects, you can do them all in GIF Animator. GIF Animator also gives you total control over optimization, allowing you to make animations compact and Web-ready while retaining excellent image quality. And, when it is time to produce the final animation file, the program lets you output your animation in a variety of file formats, including animated GIF, Windows AVI, QuickTime, Autodesk animation, image sequences, and even Flash animation. Just to give you an idea of how powerful GIF Animator is, here is an overview of some of its features. For more information about the programs new features, see the section Whats new on page 6.
Animation and Optimization Wizards GIF Animator includes built-in wizards that take all the hard work out of building animations. If you are a novice user, you can easily compose an animation by running the Animation Wizard. This wizard walks you through the whole composition process in four quick and easy steps. After you are done editing your animation, use the Optimization Wizard to automatically make the output file as compact as possible for faster download times on the Internet. Simple, easy-to-use interface GIF Animators integrated interface makes working with animations a breeze. Its tab-style interface lets you instantly switch between different working modes for you to edit, optimize, and preview your animation. The frames that make up your animation are clearly laid out in the Frame Panel, where you can add, remove, or reorganize the frames and customize playing options of individual frames. You can also easily manage the objects in the animation with the Object Manager Panel.

INTRODUCING ULEAD GIF ANIMATOR
While editing your animation project, viewing the results of your work is a snap with workspace previews or instant browser previews.
Object-based editing GIF Animator, while primarily a post-production tool, does give you the capability to manipulate objects in True Color. With the various tools in the Tool Panel, you can add text objects as well as perform minor touch-ups and edits on image objects. For more advanced editing, you can even send a frames objects directly to your favorite image editor for further enhancement or to add special effects. If you use Ulead PhotoImpact to create new text or apply effects to your text, the text objects will still remain editable when you bring them (*.ufo file format) back into the GIF Animator workspace. Animated banner text GIF Animator lets you create dynamic and eyecatching banner text in motion. You can combine different effects, such as adding a neon glow and applying move-in and move-out effects. GIF Animator also provides text formatting, alignment and line spacing adjustment controls for banner text. Plug-in filters and video effects Photoshop 32-bit plug-ins can be added into GIF Animator and applied to image objects. Also, GIF Animator comes with many video filters and effects, allowing you to create impressive transitions from one frame to another and add impact to your animations.
Note: GIF Animator 5 can open UFO files created in all Ulead PhotoImpact versions. Yet, UFO files saved in GIF Animator 5 can be opened again in GIF Animator 5 or Ulead PhotoImpact 6 only.

Whats new

This version of GIF Animator offers significant improvements to the overall program interface and brings you a wide range of new features that give you increased flexibility when editing, optimizing, and outputting your animation projects. Moreover, the approach in creating an animation has been enhanced with greater efficiency.

Enhanced usability

User-friendly interface that allows you to dock tool panels where you want them or transform them into floating panels. Workspace previews show convenient True Color preview in editing mode.
Object-based editing and composition
Text, image, and banner text objects make animation composition and editing easier. Transform Tool now lets you resize and rotate objects. Improved Selection Tools add/subtract selections. They can also produce soft edges, anti-aliasing, loading selections, and inverting selections. New Object Manager Panel lists all the objects in an animation project. You can use it to show objects, hide objects, customize object properties, and set the object layer level. Tweening automates the process of animating objects. This new feature automatically generates intermediate positions for selected objects to simulate motion and fade-in/fade-out effects.

Tool Panel Contains various tools for editing objects.
Frame Panel Lays out the animation frame by frame. Workspace This is where you compose and edit your animation frame-by-frame.
Working modes in GIF Animator
In GIF Animator, going through three different working modes - Edit, Optimize, and Preview - is essential to complete an animation. While creating an animation, click to switch between these three tabs in the workspace as needed. Each working mode provides you with a different set of tools to work on. The following sections describe how you can accomplish a GIF animation in different modes and introduce the tools available in each mode.

Edit mode

The Edit mode is the default working mode for GIF Animator. In this mode, the workspace provides a work area where you can compose and edit your animation. In Edit mode, you can start by first planning out the number of frames or scenes needed for the animation. This can be accomplished by using the Frame Panel. In the course of developing your animation, use the Frame Panel to add, remove, and arrange frames as well as set playback options. You can then add objects. Think of objects as the casts that participate in your animation. When you add them to your animation, they will be enlisted in the Object Manager Panel. The Object Manager Panel keeps a record of all your objects. Most importantly, you use the Object Manager Panel to specify which objects will (or will not) appear on each frame in the animation. Objects, be it text or image objects, can be edited and manipulated. The Tool Panel provides tools for editing objects. When you select an editing tool, the corresponding controls and options used with the tool appears in the Attribute Toolbar.
Note: To learn more about the Frame Panel, refer to the section, Working with frames on page 33.

Frame Panel

Floating panels By default, these panels are docked in a location within the program. Double-clicking the pinpointed area creates a floating panel (with a title bar) that can be moved anywhere of your choice. Doubleclicking the title bar returns to the default docked location.

Select File: Add Image - Inserts image objects from image files. The image file can be a still image, an animated GIF, an animation project (*.uga), a Photoshop (*.psd) file, a Paint Shop Pro (*.psp) file, or even a (*.ufo) file created in GIF Animator or PhotoImpact. Select File: Add Video - Inserts image objects from a video file in various formats such as AVI and MPEG. Directly drag image files or a video file from Windows Explorer to GIF Animator workspace. Copy and paste - You can create an image object from an image editor such as Ulead PhotoImpact or Adobe Photoshop first. Then simply copy [Ctrl+C] it to the clipboard and paste [Ctrl+V] it into the frame you want in GIF Animator. Convert selection to object - You can create a selection area directly on an existing image object in GIF Animator. Then simply copy [Ctrl+C] and paste [Ctrl+V] to create an object. The copied selection area is now shown as an object in the current frame, and acts as a hidden object in all other frames.
To add image objects from image files: 1 Select the frame where you want to add image objects in the Frame Panel. (For details on Frame Panel, see page 33.) 2 Select File: Add Image, or click the Add Image button. 3 Select the image file(s) you want, and then choose an option: Insert in the current frame - Adds the image objects starting in the active frame. Insert as new frame(s) - Adds image objects starting the first frame after the active one. 4 Click Open.
A selected frame in the Frame Panel

Add Image dialog box

WORKING WITH OBJECTS
To add image objects from a video file: 1 Select the frame where you want to add image objects in the Frame Panel. (For details on Frame Panel, see page 33.) 2 Select File: Add Video, or click the Add Video button. 3 Select the video file you want, and then click Open.
Note: Unlike image files, only one video file can be inserted at a time. For details on insertion options, see page 18. Tip: Using a short video is recommended. This is because a video file usually comes with many frames, which can increase the animation file size tremendously.

Add Video dialog box

Object Manager Panel
Object Manager Panel displays all the objects in your animation project as individual thumbnails. Each thumbnail reflects the latest editing that you applied to its associated object. Every thumbnail is also numbered sequentially by the order in which it was created. (The newest created one is listed on the top.)
Click an object in the Object Manager Panel to select that object in the workspace. This is particularly useful if the object is small, overlapped or hidden behind other objects. Double-click an object to view or edit its properties such as name, position, and size. Just like other standard Windows program, the Object Manager Panel allows you to use [Shift] and [Ctrl] for multiple object selection. The same behavior can also be applied to the workspace. To change the order of each objects layer, drag the thumbnail(s) directly from within the Object Manager Panel. The same object can have different attributes when it appears in different frames in the animation. Adjust the attributes using the commands available in the Object Manager Panel.

The next page depicts major features of the Object Manager Panel.
Transparency slider Click this button and then drag the slider for a quick transparency setting. Transparency Enter a higher value to increase the degree of transparency and vice versa.
Insert a blank object Creates a new object based on the canvas size. You can use it as a background color or other imaging purposes. Duplicate selected objects Make an exact copy of the selected objects. Delete active object(s) Removes selected objects. Object Manager Commands Click this button to display a popup menu for advanced commands. Objects name Displays the name of an object. Objects position and size Displays the location ([0,0] at the upper left corner) and the dimensions of an object. Objects type Displays the type of object such as an image or text object. See ToolTips for details. Lock/Unlock Toggles between the two modes to decide whether to refrain from object moving.
Show objects Displays all/visible objects in the Object Manager Panel.
Objects thumbnail Displays the associated thumbnail of an object.
Show/Hide Toggles between the two modes to decide whether to display an object in the selected frame.
In the workspace, objects can be stacked in different layer positions. To change the stacking order, simply drag selected object(s) in the Object Manager Panel and then drop them in a desired position. In addition, right-clicking a selected object in the workspace or the Object Manager Panel displays a menu where you can quickly choose from a number of object-related commands. (Some commands will be described in later sections.)

Right-click menu

Manipulating objects using the Tool Panel
Tool Panel provides a series of tools for editing and viewing objects in your animation project. The following sections describe each tool in detail.
Pick Tool Text Tool Paintbrush Tool Eraser Tool Fill Tool Eyedropper Tool Zoom In Background Color Swap Color Selection Tool - Rectangle Selection Tool - Ellipse Selection Tool - Magic Wand Selection Tool - Lasso Transform Tool Actual View Zoom Out

Foreground Color

Note: Most tools are disabled in the Optimize and Preview modes.

Pick Tool

Pick Tool selects or moves objects in the workspace. Select the object(s) first before starting your modifications.
To select an object, click it directly in the workspace. To select multiple objects, use [Shift] or [Ctrl] with the mouse click. After objects are selected, drag to move them to the desired position. Double-click an object to view or edit its properties. Use the Attribute Toolbar for other options to organize objects. See ToolTips for specific functions.

Attribute Toolbar - Pick Tool
Tip: When many objects overlap in the workspace, select the Move active object(s) only option to easily move the currently selected object without unintentionally selecting or moving others.
Notes: In the Object Manager Panel, you can also directly click there to select objects. As you select objects, the Object Manager Panel highlights the active objects in blue accordingly so you can also directly work on these objects in the Object Manager Panel. To help you easily identify the currently selected object(s), the mouse cursor becomes black as you move the mouse over the selected object(s).

Selection Tools

Selection Tools create a selection of any shape directly on an object using the Rectangle, Ellipse, Magic Wand, and Lasso Tools. Once a selection is created, you can then edit it with other tools such as Fill or Paintbrush Tools, or use copy [Ctrl+C] and paste [Ctrl+V] to create an object right away.
Notes: Before creating a selection on an object, select the object first. Colors can be applied within the selection area only. You can create a selection outside the boundary of an object. If you apply a color to the selection, the selection area will be merged with the selected object to form a single object.
All four Selection Tools, though producing different shapes, share the same Attribute Toolbar. Use these options to best suit your needs when creating a selection. Clicking the Selection Options button also displays a popup menu where you can have more control of a selection.
Attribute Toolbar - Selection Tools
Tip: Clicking the Selection Options button and choosing None clears the existing selection, without affecting the effect (such as applying colors) you previously applied on the selection area.
Menu appears after clicking the Selection Options button
Tips: Frequently, you will want to make some of the GIF image transparent. To do so, simply create a selection area first. Then, select: Edit: Make Selection Area Transparent [Del] (or click the Selection Options button and then select Make Selection Area Transparent. Making a selection area is usually for creating special effects (such as adding colors as detailed on page 27) on an existing object. However, you might experience difficulty when modifying it later because all effects will be merged with the original object. To reduce this hassle, create these effects on a separate object first. For example, select Object: New Blank Object or click the associated button in the Object Manager Panel.

Add Effects dialog box - Turn Page-Peel
Tip: You can switch to other transition effects from the drop-down list box without closing the dialog box. Experiment with other effects until you get the result you want.
To apply a Video F/X filter effect: 1 Select the starting frame where you want to apply the video filter. 2 Click the Video F/X menu and select a type of video filter. For example, you can select Camera Lens: ColorShift. This creates a gradual color change across your image or selected area. 3 In the Apply Filter dialog box, type the number of frames you want to create for the effect. (These are the frames that will be added to your animation project.) Then, click the color box if you want to change the background color used for the video filter. 4 A dialog box then opens for that video filter effect. Set up the options for the effect as needed. 5 The Key Frame Controller located below the original view window allows you to set different levels of effects at any given point during the sequence. 6 Click the Play button to see a preview of the applied filter effect. 7 Click OK. The new frames are added to your animation project.
Video F/X: transition effects
Video F/X: filter effects

Add Filter dialog box

Video F/X: Camera Lens - ColorShift dialog box
Note: Since video filters do not support a transparent background, the background color will be used to fill the transparent area in a GIF animation.
OPTIMIZING YOUR ANIMATION
Optimizing your animation
In the time where the download duration of Web pages are of utmost importance, creating quality animations with small file sizes are of great concern. A constant headache for Web designers, this burdensome problem is solved by GIF Animator. With GIF Animator, striking a balance between the quality and size of an animated GIF file is easily achieved with the tools available. GIF Animator offers the Optimize mode where there are several options for determining how to achieve the best optimization results for your animated GIF files. GIF Animator offers its users different ways to optimize their animations that beginners and advanced users can both appreciate. Below are the five methods of optimizing in GIF Animator:
Optimization Wizard - The Optimization Wizard offers a guided step by step process in compressing your animated GIF files. You just have to select the options you want then let GIF Animator worry about the compression process. Color Palette - The Color Palette allows you to manipulate the colors used in the global palette of the animation. Here you can add, delete, and replace colors in your global palette.

Tips on Optimize Panel

In the Local Palette tab, select the Local Palette for current frame option when using a local palette for a selected frame. The Preset list underneath then applies to this frame only. Its strongly suggested that you select Optimized in the Palette list (on the Palette tab) and the Remove redundant pixels option (on the Advanced tab). The Web 216 option in the Palette list is rarely used as its designed for obsolete 256-color monitors.

Tips on Color Palette

In a Global color palette, select a color for editing by directly clicking a color cell. Another way is to move the mouse over the preview window on the right. The cursor now becomes an eyedropper. Just move the mouse to the color you want and the click it. The selected color cell will be encased in white. Then, you can start editing by using the control buttons. To select multiple colors, use the mouse and [Ctrl]/[Shift] as you would in Windows Explorer. A locked color remains intact, no matter how the optimization settings change.

PREVIEWING YOUR WORK

Previewing your work
Previewing is a way of checking how your work will really look in a browser. This lets you see whether your animation project has turned out the way you planned. GIF Animator provides a quick and simple way to check your masterpiece.

In the Edit mode

The best thing about the Edit mode is that you can edit and preview your work on the same workspace. It allows you to work closely and see the changes in your animation whenever you make adjustment on the object and frame properties. This is convenient when you want to see how you are progressing.
To preview using the Edit mode: 1 In the Edit mode, click the Play Animation button in the Frame Panel. This will show your animation. 2 Click the Stop Animation button to discontinue the animation. 3 If you want to preview a particular frame, choose from the options below: To see the beginning or end frame of your animation project, click the Go to First Frame or Go to Last Frame button. To go back or forward a frame, click the Go to Previous Frame or Go to Next Frame button. To go directly to a frame, click the Frames button and enter the number of the frame in which you want to view then click OK.
Go to Last Frame Go to Next Frame Frames Go to Previous Frame Go to First Frame Stop Animation Play Animation

Go To Frame dialog box

Note: The Edit mode uses True Color on your animation project. The appearance of the colors may slightly differ when previewed in a Web browser.

In the Preview mode

The Preview Mode is where you can check your work and to give an idea on how your animation will appear when viewed in a Web browser. However, when you switch to this mode, the editing tools and some menu options will be unavailable at this point. To preview using the Preview mode: 1 Click the Preview mode tab. 2 Press [Esc] or click the Edit mode tab to return to the workspace.

Note: Make sure that you have Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (or higher version) installed on your computer. Otherwise the Preview mode will not be available.

In a Web browser

Before you publish your animation on the World Wide Web, previewing your work in an actual browser such as Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator is always a good idea. This is to make sure that everything will show exactly the way you want it to be. You can click one of the browser button in the Standard Toolbar to load your animation project in Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. When you have Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator installed on your computer, GIF Animator provides an option in the File: Preferences - Preview dialog box which automatically detect the location of these Web browsers. If you want to see how your animation project looks in a different browser, you can customize a browser for your GIF Animator.
To customize a different Web browser: 1 Select File: Preferences. 2 Click the Preview tab. 3 In Other browsers, click the open button to open and locate the path that contains the Web browser you want to add. 4 Click OK.

SAVING & EXPORTING

Saving & exporting
Once you are done with creating and editing your animation, you will undoubtedly want to save it. GIF Animator provides several output methods to meet your specific needs. You can save your work as an animated GIF file, or save the frames of the animation individually, or even output it as digital movie file. In addition, GIF Animator also gives you an option of exporting your work as a stand-alone executable file.

Saving your work

It is important that you save your work every now and then whether it is finished or not. Saving allows GIF Animator to keep the object information of your animation project (*.uga), which you can open again so that you can continue your work where it was left off. When you save your animation for the first time or select File: Save As, you will find a list of different saving file formats to choose from in the Save As menu. The following is a brief overview of where these file formats are best to use.
GIF File - This saves the entire animation project by stacking it together as a standard GIF file. GIF(s) are highly used format for displaying animations in the World Wide Web because of its lossless compression. UGA File - GIF Animator defaults to saving files in its native format. This format retains all the object informations individually making it easier to modify it in the future. UFO File - UFO stands for Ulead File for Objects format which can be edited using Ulead PhotoImpact (6). Select a frame and save it in UFO format file then you can edit the objects and base image independently of each other using Ulead PhotoImpact (6). PSD File - This is Adobe Photoshops native file format. Select a frame to save, edit the objects, layers, and base image independently from one another with Photoshop. Image Frames - This is quite useful when you intend to save all the frames as individual, sequentially numbered files. Each frame in the sequence are labeled as name001.jpg, name002.jpg and so on, where name is the one you specified in the Save As dialog box. Video File - GIF Animator allows you to save your animation project in a video file format such as AVI or MPEG. These file formats can transmit the images faster by compressing and streaming them. Macromedia Flash (SWF) - Shockwave Flash is Macromedias native file format. This is ideal for presenting vector-based graphics such as text, line drawings or any non-photorealistic imagery in the Web.

Index Editor

The Index Editor provides advanced customization features (especially for detailed pixel editing) for the current animation project in GIF Animator or an existing GIF file. The Index Editor is particularly useful for experienced GIF users who require more control over the GIF file size, precise pixel editing, removing redundant pixels, and other GIF attributes.
File Properties Displays global attributes (for all frames) and frame attributes (for each individual frame) for customization. Open an existing GIF file Opens another GIF file in the workspace. Only one GIF file can be opened at a time. Frame controls Moves forward/backward to select a frame. File name Displays the currently opened GIF file name in the Index Editor. Frame position Indicates the currently selected frame. Click the arrow to select other frames. Tool Panel Provides tools for editing, zooming, and undo/redo. Foreground/Background Color; Swap Color Displays and toggles between the foreground color and the background color. Optimize Opens the Optimization Wizard to help you quickly optimize a GIF file. Preview Opens a dialog box where you can preview how the whole GIF would look.
Save As Saves your current GIF file. Exit Closes the Index Editor. Options Decide whether or not to display a message when there is a change in the palette. RGB Displays the RGB values of the currently selected color. Palette type Displays whether the color palette is a Global or Local Palette. Palette controls Provides options to edit the colors in the palette. Color Clicks to select a new color. Number of colors Displays the total number of colors in the palette.
Color palette Displays all color cells in the color palette for you to select and modify.
Transparency controls Select a color index value (like a serial number from zero to the last digit, depending on the total number of colors in the palette) to use as a transparent color.

INDEX EDITOR

For the current animation project, select File: Save As - GIF File. Then, select the Open in Index Editor option and enter a file name. Next, click the Save button. The current animation project will be saved using this file name, and the Index Editor opens.
Notes: In the Optimize mode, you cannot edit the Color Palette when viewing the Local Palette. You can only edit the Local Palette in the Index Editor. Undo is not supported in palette editing. So, its strongly recommended that you save the original palette as a backup before modifying it.

To edit color palettes in Index Editor: 1 Select a frame in the Frame list. (Open a GIF file first if youre using the Index Editor as a stand-alone program.) 2 Click any color cell in the color palette for selection. (Use [Shift] or [Ctrl] for multi selection as you would in Windows Explorer.) The color(s) you select is circled in red in the color palette. 3 Use the palette control buttons on the right for modification. You can also click the color area (under the RGB values) to select a new color. 4 If you need to use a transparent color, select the Transparency index option and then click the Transparent color button. Next, use the list or click a color cell to select a color. 5 Repeat steps 1 to 4 as needed. Meanwhile, you can click the Preview button to see how the new result would be. Here, you can play the whole animation, or view a specific frame. 6 When youre done, click the Save As button to save the GIF file.

Preview dialog box

Notes: In step 2, another way to select a color is to click Foreground Color under the Tool Panel. Next, move the mouse pointer (it becomes an eyedropper) over the image area where the pixel you want to edit is located, and then click to select it. (Use the Zoom Tool as needed to help you locate it.) The effect of a transparent color can only be seen in the Preview mode, or in a browser (after the GIF is saved). In the Index Editor, you can see the actual image content in every frame, especially when you choose to remove redundant pixels.
Appendix: GIF color palettes
In a GIF animation file, all images in each frame together contain an index table that defines the number of colors within the frame and exactly which colors each index represents. Every color in the maximum 256-color spectrum has its own unique identification, which is stored in the images color index (the color palette). In GIF files, each color in the index needs 3 or 4 bytes of data to define it (depending on how it was originally stored). Therefore, an image with a 256-color palette could have a color index of up to 1024 bytes in size. There are two kinds of palettes for animated GIFs: a Global Palette, which defines the colors of all images within the frames in the animation use by default; and a Local Palette, which is unique to each frame in the file. When a new frame is inserted into a GIF animation, you can select to use either its Local Palette or the Global Palette. When you are ready to insert frames into your animation file, you should decide how you want to manage your color palettes. If every frame contains virtually identical colors, then there is no reason to fatten your animation file with redundant information by including a Local Palette in each frame. However, if new frames have colors not found in the Global Palette, you might want to choose a Local Palette instead. Its not always recommended that you use the Global Palette. Reducing the animations file size is not as important as maintaining the quality of your work, but it should be a serious consideration. The best time to use a Local Palette instead of a Global Palette is when the frame being inserted is drastically different from the existing frames.

SHORTCUTS

Shortcuts

Command

File Menu
New Open Image Save (As UGA File) Save As GIF File Save As Image Frames Add Image Optimization Wizard Batch Process Export As HTML File Preferences Ctrl+N Ctrl+O Ctrl+S Ctrl+Shift+S Ctrl+E Ins F11 Ctrl+B Ctrl+Alt+S F6

Shortcut

Edit Menu
Undo Redo Cut Copy Copy Merged Paste Make Selection Area Transparent Canvas Size Crop Canvas
Ctrl+Z Ctrl+Y Ctrl+X Ctrl+C Shift+Ctrl+C Ctrl+V Del Ctrl+G Ctrl+R

View Menu

Actual View Zoom In Zoom Out Ctrl+1 + -

Object Menu

New Blank Object Duplicate Object(s) Edit Text Object Properties Ctrl+Alt+D Ctrl+D Shift+E Ctrl+Shift+Enter

Frame Menu

Add Banner Text Tween Add Frame Duplicate Frame(s) Ctrl+Alt+B Ctrl+T Ctrl+Alt+F Ctrl+F

Help Menu

Help Context Sensitive Help F1 Shift+F1
A Active Desktop Item 50 Animation 18 Animation Wizard 4, 16, 17 B Background color 29, 52 Banner text 36 Browser 10, 46 C Canvas size 18 Color Palette 41, 44, 53, 54 Crop 19, 25 Customizing 9 D Delay 9, 37, 39 Dither 44 E Edit mode 12, 45 Effects 37 Eraser Tool 28 Exporting 47 Eyedropper Tool 29 F Fill Tool 28 Flash 47, 49 Foreground color 27, 28, 29, 52, 53 Frame Panel 33 Frames 33, 34 Frames - distributing 37 Frames - flattening 31 Frames - removing 34 Frames - tweening 35 H HTML 50 I Image 18 Image editors 30 Image frames 47, 48 Index Editor 52 Installation 8 M Matte 39, 44 N Neon 37
O Object Manager Panel 21 Object-based editing 5, 6, 20 Objects - combining 31 Objects - distributing 32 Objects - synchronizing 32 Optimization 7, 10, 43, 44 Optimization Wizard 4, 41, 52 Optimize mode 13, 41, 42 Optimize Panel 41, 44 P Packaged animation 51 Paintbrush Tool 27 Palette 52, 54 Pick Tool 23 Playback 9, 37 Plug-in filters 10, 38 Preferences 9, 38, 46 Preset 43 Preview 45 Preview mode 13, 46 PSD file 47 R Redo 9 Removal method 9, 34 Resize 19 S Saving 47 Selection Tools 24 Shadow 30, 31 Startup Wizard 16 T Text Tool 26 Tool Panel 23 Transform Tool 25 Transition 39 Transparent 25, 27, 28, 37, 52, 53 Tutorial 15, 16 Tweening 35 U Undo 9 V Video 18, 47, 48 Video F/X 39 Video filter 40 Z Zoom Tools 26

Reviewers Guide

http://www.ulead.com/ga/runme.htm

Additional Information

Mr. Colwin Chan Product Marketing Manager Ulead Systems, Inc. Tel: +1-310-896-6388 Fax: +1-310-896-6389 colwin@ulead.com http://www.ulead.com Ms. Pamela Swartwood Public Relations Manager Ulead Systems, Inc. Tel: +1-310-896-6388 Fax: +1-310-896-6389 pams@ulead.com http://www.ulead.com Ulead GIF Animator 5 Page 1

Contents

Welcome to the Reviewers Guide for Ulead GIF Animator 5, the latest version of the most robust stand-alone tool for creating GIF animations for the Web and presentations. Uleads GIF Animator was the first GIF animation tool released approximately four years ago, and today it remains the most popular with almost 1 million downloads at Download.com alone by far the most of any stand-alone GIF animation tool. This latest version sports a new object-based model and sets the bar for integration, simplicity and power. Here is what you will find in this Reviewers Guide: Summary.... 3 Product Strategy.... 4 Current Market Situation Product Positioning Target Markets Pricing & Availability Product Information... 5 Key Features / Benefits Whats New File Format Support System Requirements Product Overview... 8 Intuitive Interface Easy Composition Dynamic Effects Powerful Optimization Flexible Output

Ulead GIF Animator 5

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Summary

The Worlds No. 1 GIF Animation Tool for the Web
Ulead GIF Animator 5 is the worlds most robust and affordable stand-alone GIF animation tool, delivering industry-leading features for composition, special effects, optimization and output in a single package. Built ground-up for Web animation design, Ulead GIF Animator lets the Web designer and graphic design enthusiast produce highly creative animation for Web pages, presentations and multimedia titles. The newest version of this award-winning GIF animation program retains its intuitive interface while offering a range of new object-based features. No other stand-alone GIF animation tool provides all the components necessary to create dynamic animation at such an affordable price.
Intuitive Interface New object-based model makes animation easier and more powerful

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Product Strategy

Current Market Situation

Despite the constant introduction of new technologies, GIF animation still dominates animation on the Web because of its universal compatibility and simple production. GIF Animator secures its position as the leading GIF animation tool by offering a robust set of GIF animation features at an affordable price. GIF Animator is built from the ground up, specifically for GIF animation, whereas the competition often forces the purchase of expensive and unwieldy image editing software.

Product Positioning

Ulead GIF Animator 5 is the worlds most robust and affordable GIF animation tool, delivering industry-leading features for composition, special effects, optimization and output in a single package. No other stand-alone GIF animation tool provides all the components necessary to create dynamic animation at such an affordable price.

Target Markets

Ulead GIF Animator 5 lets the Web designer and graphic design enthusiast produce highly creative animation for Web pages, presentations and multimedia titles. GIF Animator provides the control and flexibility professional designers expect while offering an easy and intuitive interface for beginners.
Pricing & Availability
Ulead GIF Animator 5 will be available in retail, catalog and online stores in North America starting April 2000. The estimated street price for the box edition is US$49.95. The download edition is priced at US$44.95. Ulead offers a special US$29.95 box upgrade offer to registered owners of previous Ulead GIF Animator versions. The download edition is priced at US$24.95. For more information on Ulead GIF Animator and other Ulead products, please visit Ulead on the Web: http://www.ulead.com

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Product Information
Key Features and Benefits
Object-Based Editing gives users the flexibility to create and
place True Color objects within GIF Animator for easy manipulation. Object Manager controls a common pool of objects for all frames.
Tweening saves users time by interpolating frames between a start point and end point for position and transparency. Advanced Text Control gives users precision options for creating customized animated text in the workspace with character level control and formatting like spacing, kerning, and baseline shift. Enhanced Editing Tools give users more control over editing
functions such as fill, drawing with pen tools, painting, object erasing for transparency and making selection areas.
More Automated Effects deliver more ready-to-go animated
effects that make complicated animations easy to make. This includes animated text effects, filters and transitions.
Tight Integration with Image Editors gives users integration
with PhotoImpact and other image editors like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro. Users can open layers from the image editor as individual animation frames or single frames with multiple objects.
Roundtrip Auto Updating lets users export frame objects from
GIF Animator into image editors like PhotoImpact, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, make changes, then automatically update the frame in GIF Animator. A real time saver.
Enhanced Optimization allows users to achieve the smallest
possible files sizes. New preview windows allow visual before-andafter comparisons. Lossy GIF allows for smaller sizes, while total palette editing lets users precisely control animation colors and snap colors to Web safe palettes.
Flexible Output gives users options to create GIF files, True
Color AVI, QuickTime, MPEG files as well as export raster-based Flash (SWF) animations. Users can also save and send self-playing animated greetings with messages and music.

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Whats New
Intuitive Interface Tab-based workspace with Edit, Optimize and Preview modes Object Manager controls a common pool of objects for all frames Frame Panel provides filmstrip view for easy object animation Preview animation directly in the composition workspace Customize with full floating/dockable interface Easy Composition Object-based composition and layer management True Color source object editing Open PhotoImpact, Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro layers Roundtrip object editing in external image editors New always editable text objects Precise character-level text formatting Enhanced selection, paint and transform tools Advanced object tweening across frames Dynamic Effects Always editable animated banner text objects Anti-aliased animated banner text support New neon and glow effects with animated banner text New video filters, including Color Replace and Color Shift Powerful Optimization Display optimized results as animated before and after views Superior optimization from True Color source objects Advanced color palette management Optimize by file size or compression ratio Lossy GIF compression and Web Snap color control Flexible Output Reuse GIF Animator object-based project files Export to PhotoImpact and Photoshop layers Output True Color MPEG video Save as raster-based True Color Flash animation

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File Format Support
Import BMP, EPS, GIF, IFF, IMG, JPEG/JPG, MAC, MSP, PCD, PICT, PCX, PNG, PSD, PSP, TGA, UFO, UGA, AVI, FLC/FLI/FLX, MOV/QT, MPEG/MPG Export GIF, JPEG/JPG, PNG, PSD, UFO, UGA, AVI, FLC/FLI/FLX, MOV/QT, MPEG/MPG, raster-based SWF, HTML, EXE

System Requirements

PC Computers Intel Pentium compatible processors Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 SP5 or higher, Windows 2000, Windows Me 64MB of RAM 20MB of available hard drive space CD-ROM drive True Color or HiColor display adapter and monitor Windows compatible pointing device

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Product Overview

Intuitive Interface

Ulead GIF Animator 5 makes a fundamental change with its new True Color objectbased model for composing dynamic animation with the utmost in ease and flexibility. Creating multiple-object animation is even more powerful without the restrictions of the frame-based model for composition. The Object Manager controls a common pool of True Color objects used in different frames. All image, text and animated text objects are live and can be controlled for visibility and positioning in the Frame Window. GIF Animator's tab-based interface provides an at-a-glance view of the composition process, from editing to output. Start in Edit mode to add objects, edit objects, animate objects and apply effects. Switch to Optimize mode to select compression settings and to control colors. Finish in Preview mode with GIF Animators builtin Internet Explorer engine.
Tool Panel Built-in image editing tools for fast touchups and modifications to live objects
Object Manager Multiple-object management with control over True Color source objects
Frame Panel Filmstrip view helps apply effects, transitions and tweening across frames
Text Entry Box Character-level control for always-editable text objects, even animated banner text

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Easy Composition
Managing Objects Ulead GIF Animator 5 empowers the serious designer by managing animation at the object level. The Object Manager contains a common pool of objects for all frames. Object properties can be specified, including layering, transparency, shadows and positioning. Adding video files or other animation gives users the ability to merge animation or generate independent frames. Users can also import PhotoImpact, Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro layers as separate objects. All object information is retained in GIF Animator project files for continued use. Editing Objects One of the key benefits of using GIF Animator is its ability to integrate with external image editors. In addition to built-in editing tools, additional frame editing is possible in GIF Animator using outside image editors like Uleads own PhotoImpact 6 or other programs such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. GIF Animator saves users time because it can send frame objects directly to the external image editor of choice. GIF Animator detects changes made and automatically updates the objects associated with that frame. Text Handling The latest version of GIF Animator comes packed with advanced text handling features. Text objects are always-editable, meaning that they can be edited after entry. Text can be formatted at the character level, including font face, font size and font style. Advanced options provide kerning, baseline shift, character spacing and text alignment control. Anti-aliasing, shadow, neon and gradient fill effects add flair to your text. Animating Objects The object-based model for animation composition is a much superior and timesaving method than the frame-based model. The Frame Panel displays a filmstrip view for convenient access to the frames in a project. All controls for animation are in-view eliminating the need to search through hidden file menu commands. Users can add, duplicate and delete frames with window controls. One the most exciting features is being able to preview objects directly in the editing workspace, keeping track of the object positioning and visibility among frames. Advanced object tweening automates object trajectory across frames.

Object Manager & Frame Panel Object Manager controls a common pool of objects for all frames in the Frame Panel
Roundtrip Auto-Updating Object editing in external image editors, like PhotoImpact, Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro
Transform Tool The Transform Tool makes animating objects easy with stretch and rotate functions

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Dynamic Effects
Animated Banner Text One of GIF Animators key selling points is in the generation of animated banner text. Animated banner text objects are live, meaning that they remain editable after entry with character-level control. Ulead GIF Animator 5 offers 13 different move-in and move-out paths for animated banner text, including fading and multiple character effect sequences. Transitions, Filters & Plug-in Support GIF Animator applies professional-quality video transitions between frames using Uleads core video technology. Choose from 16 video transitions, from standard wipes to 3D effects. In addition, GIF Animator supplies 10 video filters to manipulate frame images, from camera lens effects to gradient effects. Users may also use their Photoshop compatible plug-in filters to extend the range of effects possible with GIF Animator.
Animated Banner Text 13 animated move-in and move-out paths; with neon and glow effects in real-time
Video Transitions 16 video transitions, from standard wipes to 3D effects
Video Filters 10 video filters, from camera lens effects to gradient effects

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Powerful Optimization
Optimization Techniques Download speed is essential for GIF animation on the Web. Ulead GIF Animator 5 includes the latest optimization techniques to deliver the best animation at the smallest size. Optimization includes difference analysis to remove redundant pixels. Users can apply variable amounts of dither and lossy GIF compression. Beginners may choose to optimize using the Optimization Wizard or optimize using presets, including target file size and compression ratio. Advanced users may customize and reuse their own presets. Professional users can save time in production by batch optimizing GIF animation by folder or selected files. Color Palette Management Advanced color palette management gives the Web designer the edge in creating animation that is not only small in size, but also compatible with various Web browsers. Color palette management enables editing, locking and snapping of colors to the Web Safe Palette. Save and load user-defined palettes for future use. Animated Previews Ulead GIF Animator 5 provides fully interactive optimization in Optimize mode. Users can compare the original True Color animation to the optimized animation side-by-side. Animaton controls in the Frame Window make it easy to preview optimized results in each frame. GIF Animator also provides handy optimization statistics, including before and after files sizes and download times.

Animated Previews Optimized results are displayed in real-time as animated before and after views
Optimization Wizard Selecting intelligent presets automates the optimization process for smaller file sizes
Optimization Options Advanced palette options and lossy GIF compression reduce file sizes and ensure Web color compatibility

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Flexible Output
Output Options Ulead GIF Animator 5 offers the industrys widest range of output options. Users can output True Color video file formats, including AVI, QuickTime and MPEG. This latest version of GIF Animator expands output options to include rasterbased Flash (SWF) animation. GIF Animator can save project files with True Color source objects for later reuse. Animation Previews Users can play True Color animation directly in Edit mode, viewing the real-time interaction among property changes in the Object Manager, Frame Window and the composition workspace. Users can also select desired optimization results by displaying side-by-side animated views in Optimize mode. Finally, rendering animation directly in Preview mode with GIF Animators built-in Internet Explorer engine makes it easy to test GIF animation. Cool Applications Ulead GIF Animator 5 works well in many creative projects for both the professional and enthusiast. Professional Web designers can automatically generate HTML code from GIF Animator and then import it into their favorite HTML editor, such as FrontPage, Dreamweaver or GoLive. Also, GIF Animator is perfect for enhancing multimedia presentations. Users can easily add eye-catching animation to PowerPoint presentations or add interactive video clips to PDF files. GIF Animator is the only animation program that outputs self-playing EXE (executable) animated greetings using personalized messages and music, perfect for sharing with others via e-mail.
True Color Video & Flash New True Color AVI, QuickTime, MPEG and raster-based Flash animation
Web Previews Built-in GIF animation preview with Internet Explorer engine or external browser support

Thank You

Thank You for taking the time to review GIF Animator 5. We hope you agree that it delivers a powerful set of tool for creating GIF Aniamtion with the best overall integration with outside image editors. GIF Animator makes animation creation simple, fast and efficient. With extensive output options to GIF, video, Flash and EXE files, GIF Animator represents the most versatile and affordable stand-alone GIF Animation tool available today. If you have any questions or if there is any way we can further assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
HTML Support HTML generation for display in Web browsers or import into external HTML editors

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