What is a GIF File and How to Open It?
Are you fond of using emoji while you text? If you’re, you must have used GIFs as well. GIF is an animated image file like any other format files. They have become a vital part of the World Wide Web and were created back in 1987.
In simple words, GIFs are not still pictures, but they aren’t particularly videos too. Even if you can’t get a hold of what is being talked about, you surely must have come across GIFs.
Now the question arises why are GIFs used? Read below to know more.
Use of GIFs
- Expression
Just as you use emojis to convey your emotions, GIFs are used to convey your thoughts and feelings. They have become an important part of the conversation and are often used while messaging or other social media applications.
- Marketing Strategy
As you know, images or creativity attract potential customers more than a boring, dull text. Thus, GIFs are used as a marketing strategy by the businesses to draw the attention of their customers. Also, GIFs contain a maximum of 256 colors which brings out a colorful animated image.
- Tutorial Purpose
As they say, images say much more than words. You must have noticed websites or other videos using animated images to make you understand a tutorial. GIFs fit right in place for this purpose.
- Advertisements
GIFs are also a part of the ad industry. Ads target your social media and keep on appearing. Sometimes, these ads are funny and attractive enough that people start sharing them with their friends. GIFs work as a strategy used by the ad department.
Pros of Animated GIFs
The pros of using animated GIFs are:
- Compressed File
The primary advantage of using a GIF is its compressed file size. It is smaller when compared to the other file formats and can prove to be advantageous when used online. These GIFs load quicker than all other formats, which means it doesn’t affect the performance of the website.
- Trendy
GIFs have set the trend and are shared as much as any other memes or jokes. Thus, it has gained popularity and is used as a part of the conversation.
Cons of Animated GIFs
- Limited Colors
GIFs use a maximum of 256 colors that is a huge disadvantage. Due to the availability of limited colors, it creates low-quality GIFs mainly when an original image with a lot of colors is used.
- Special Software Required for Editing
Editing of GIFs doesn’t happen like any other images. Other images can be edited on our phone using any third-party applications. However, GIFs need to be edited in a special software like Photoshop, GIF editor, etc.
How to Open a GIF File?
There is a specific method to decode, unlike any other file formats. However, almost all web browsers support GIFs. Thus, all you need to do is double-tap on the GIF file, and the browser will open the same.
For editing software like Photoshop, it’ll not open the GIF straightaway. Instead, it’ll present grids and frames in the file that makes it easy for you to edit.
You may also use Microsoft Windows Photos on PC or Apple Preview on macOS to open and view GIF files.
How to Create a GIF?
Now, you’re well aware of viewing a GIF file, it might interest you if we say that you can also create your GIFs. There is various software that can be used to create these GIFs such as Gifycat, GIPHY’s, etc.
Most of the GIFs are likely to be downloaded from the GIPHY.com, as it’s the largest animated library that provides GIFs. Not only this, but you can also create GIFs using YouTube links, existing photos, and videos, etc.
The steps for creating GIFs in a GIPHY software:
- Open a web browser.
- Search for GIPHY.com in the address bar.
- Tap on the ‘Create’ option on the top-right corner of the screen.
- You can drag and drop any existing files or paste a link of any file in the given space.
- Crop the video and keep it between 2 to 5 seconds.
- You may also add a caption, quote, etc to customize it.
- After creating a GIF, you can further edit it into other software to spice things up.
What is the Difference Between a GIF and JPEG File?
As you already know, there are different file formats to store images. Thus, JPEG is another image format, but unlike GIFs, JPEG doesn’t store multiple images. They also do not support transparency; however, GIF does.
One major difference between both the file formats is that GIF has a limited color palette, while JPEG supports millions of colors.
Creating GIFs to exchange messages or planting memes out of it can be a lot of fun. It might sound difficult to create them, but GIF specialized software makes it an easy job. Haven’t tried creating a GIF? Well, create one now and surprise your friends.