Có rất nhiều cách khác nhau để thêm các hiệu ứng động cho các ứng dụng. Một số nhà phát triển đang theo ấn tượng rằng họ phải sử dụng DirectX hoặc một công nghệ như nó để tạo ra hình ảnh động tốt. Thực tế là hầu hết các ứng dụng kinh doanh không yêu cầu hình ảnh động | Using the GIF Construction Set Using the GIF Construction Set There are many different ways to add animated effects to applications. Some developers are under the impression that they must use DirectX or a technology like it to create good animation. The fact is that most business applications don t require animation and those that do can often present an acceptable appearance by using an animated GIF file. DirectX is a powerful technology that you can use to create everything from a simple business presentation to an advanced game however all of that power comes at a price a fact that the example in this chapter demonstrated. All that an animated GIF does is pack several pictures into one file. A browser plays these pictures back one at a time which helps you to create the illusion of continuous animation. Because you can place a browser viewing area within standard .NET desktop applications animation is freely available to anyone who wants it. You can also use special effects to create a slide show using a GIF by changing the interval between pictures. Note This section will show you how to create a GIF using the GIF Construction Set from Alchemy Mind Works. You can download it from several places. The best place is straight from the vendor at http alchemy . This application also appears on the CD in the GIF Construction Set folder. We ll use the GIF Construction Set in this example for two reasons. First since it s shareware all of you can download it from the Internet and follow along with the examples. Second it s a great program and most people find that it works just fine for creating animated GIFs. At most you ll notice the lack of an actual drawing program with this program but Windows already supplies that in the form of Paintbrush or MS Paint. You ll also need a graphics conversion utility if your drawing program doesn t support the GIF file format directly neither Paintbrush nor MS Paint does . Both Graphics Workshop from
