How to use Animated Gif in a delphi form

Question

I think theres no native support to gif animated images.

How is the best way? any free component that allow that? I was thinking in using a TImage and a ImageList + Timer, but I need to export each frame of the gif to a separated bmp file.

Deposal

Answer 1

It's pretty simple in modern Delphi. It's all built in. Drop a TImage onto the form and load the animated GIF into the Picture property. Then, start the animation by means of the Animate property:

(Image1.Picture.Graphic as TGIFImage).Animate := True;

You can control the animation with AnimateLoop and AnimateSpeed. It should be pretty easy to guess how to switch the animation off again!

Now, since you are using Delphi 7, you don't have the TGIFImage component built-in. However, you can download the code from Finn Tolderlund's website (you want the latest version of TGIFImage). With this version of the component, the code above should work fine, although I personally have not used it since I ported from D6 to D2010 a few years back.

All these various TGIFImage codes are really just versions of the same component, originally written by Anders Melander and, in 2007, donated to Embarcadero for inclusion in Delphi.

Mccarthy

Beware the shit-show called Jedi VCL which will prevent loading animated GIFs into a TImage if it's registered. – Barahona

@WarrenP I wondered why this approach no longer works... How to disable it? I tried the following but couldn't find a solution. (1) I have already disabled the 'Register global design editors' option when installing JVCL. (2) The Project Jedi branch of the IDE options window doesn't have related settings. (3), I couldn't figure out which of the installed JEDI packages might contain this feature, see ibb.co/sQ6b1CV – Extraction

Also disabled the 'JvGif for .gif' checkbox of the JVCL installer, let the installer rebuilt the packages, but issue still exits. – Extraction

Update: working solution: Disabled the JvMM packages when installing JVCL. If you can't do that, comment out the following line from JvMMReg.pas: RegisterPropertyEditor(TypeInfo(TJvGIFImage), nil, '', TJvGraphicPropertyEditor); – Extraction

Answer 2

this is simply loading an animated gif and not making one

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin

  ( Image1.Picture.Graphic as TGIFImage ).Animate := True;// gets it goin'

  ( Image1.Picture.Graphic as TGIFImage ).AnimationSpeed:= 500;// adjust your speed

  Form1.DoubleBuffered := True;// stops flickering

end;

stackoverflow has helped me and so my little bit in return :)

Floranceflore

DoubleBuffered := True is usually a bad move – Mccarthy

Excellent code my dear friend. Shows me that flicker doesn't happen at all when you use the above code in a form which has no other control except the TImage. +1 for a flicker free experience. – Ajar

I know this is an old thread, but it may be a good idea to stop it when the form is not in focus to save resources. – Deposal

Answer 3

Searched Google for 'Delphi Gif' Came up with this

http://melander.dk/delphi/gifimage/

now part of Delphi

Bearish

Answer 4

If you happen to use JVCL, like me, you will likely run into trouble with Davids answer, because JVCL registers TJvGifImage for GIF files which does not descent from TGifImage (see comments to Davids answer).

In this case the easiest solution seems to be loading the GIF file directly from resources:

//eg in FormCreate:
FAnimationGraphic := TGifImage.Create;
FAnimationGraphic.LoadFromResourceName(HInstance, 'GIF_XYZ_ANIMATION');
ImageAnimation.Picture.Graphic := FAnimationGraphic;

(ImageAnimation.Picture.Graphic as TGIFImage).Animate := True;

//eg in FormDestroy:
//FAnimationGraphic must be freed! 
//ImageAnimation.Picture is not owner of the image
FreeAndNil(FAnimationGraphic);

Pogonia

See this answer for TGifImage.LoadFromResourceName – Pogonia

Alternatively one can use JVCLs TJvGIFAnimator. – Pogonia