While you can make an animated GIF using almost any graphics program, the features you need are often hidden away in a full image editing package. Because GIF Animator is designed just for working with animations, the tools are easy to find and use. The interface is easy to work, as it provides a filmstrip view of all the frames in your animation. You'll also see a list of all the objects across all the frames, so you can work across multiple frames, overlaying one object on another. From the main window, you can edit the images, produce intermediate frames automatically by tweening from one image to another, optimize the color palette to make the file smaller, and preview the final animation.

A simple set of editing tools lets you paint, erase, and add text. Excellent integration with programs like PhotoImpact, Photoshop, and Paint Shop Pro means you can work with layers in an image as objects inside GIF Animator, or update your images in another package and automatically see the changes in GIF Animator. There's a set of special effects and transitions, but you can also use Photoshop plug-ins and filters. You can work with video files as well as still images, and import and export a range of formats including Flash.

This is the latest version of a classic utility that's packed with features but still easy to use. If you need images that move, make them in GIF Animator. --Mary Branscombe