I hated that Vista didn't have the ability to open up a .gif image of a small clip, I thought they would change this in 7 - but nope.
Is there any chance they would release support for them in an update eventually?
I think it's just the photo viewer that won't play them. Right click on a .gif file, select Open With and choose Internet Explorer or Firefox and you should be able to view it.
The way I understand the issue with Gif images is that the actual format (especially the animation), is a semi proprietary one and has been the subject of several legal battles in the past.
I think Microsoft simply decided some time ago that apart from the web they would not support the format to avoid potential future issues
Last edited by Barman58; 26 Nov 2009 at 15:03.
You can open a .gif file with IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide
I've got Irfan, it gets a lot of use. It was just really convenient when I was able to view the animations in the standard image viewer in Windows.
You can view it in Windows Photo viewer if u right click on the image and select Preview
It's the same thing as double clicking it. Won't do much good.
To set it to open default in IE or Irfan
I'm gonna give IrfanView a try now.Code:Right click the .gif Open With Choose default program... Click on Internet Explorer/Irfan Tick "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" Press OK
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