Animated GIFs don't animate

Problem

My animated GIFs don't animate in PowerPoint.

Here's why and what to do about it
First off, a few basic points:

• GIFs only animate in Slide Show view; they appear as still images in other views.
• PowerPoint 97 and earlier doesn't play animated GIF files; PowerPoint 2000 and later can.
• The free PowerPoint 97 Viewer doesn't play animated GIFs either. The 2003 Viewer can.

Bottom line: To use animated GIFs, you must display your presentation in PowerPoint 2000 or later or in the PowerPoint 2003 Viewer.

You'll find links to download Free PowerPoint Viewers here.

Even if you use a version of PowerPoint or the Viewer that can play animated GIFs, there are still some oddities.

Sonia Coleman explains them thoroughly here

If you must use PowerPoint 97 or the older PowerPoint 97 viewer, you'll need to convert your animated GIF files to AVI format.

Once again, Sonia comes to the rescue: Sonia Coleman's PowerPoint Tutorials

Here are some programs that will convert animated GIF to AVI:

• The Converter's Paradise Look in the "F" section for fmp141.zip (fmp stands for fast movie processor)
• GIF Construction Set from Alchemy Mindworks

Note that GIF Construction Set can also help you set the various looping parameters that you'll need to change to suit different versions of PowerPoint and Viewer.

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