Inserting GIF files into Storyline

Jan 04, 2013

Hello!

I am working on an eLearning projext that requires a lot of GIF files from the client to be integrated into the learning.

While searching the forums I found several posts where people got help in making GIF files work and a few saying that GIF files need to be converted to SWF files.

Which is correct?

Can I insert a GIF file into Storyline? If so How?

If not - how can I convert the GIF to SWF?

Thanks 

109 Replies
Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

HI Annie,

Thanks for sharing this here. I don't believe there is a way to override this behavior within Storyline, as the zoom is for images/pictures only and will stop the animation. Potentially someone in the community has a workaround to offer, or you may want to look at simulating the zoom behavior by showing a larger version of the animated Gif on a layer perhaps when clicking? 

Steven Croft

Hi all, I'm having the same issue now, an animated gif made in Photoshop, plays back ok in Browsers but Articulate just shows it as a static image. Did anyone find a solution? I've remade it as an mp4 but would rather have transparency around edges....besides, which would be better for mobile? Animated gifs or mp4?

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Steven, 

I know there was an issue recently reported with GIF scaling in HTML5 - so if you're able to use the MP4 that'll give you the best results across platforms. 

In regards to playing as a static image, are you seeing this while previewing or during the publish? you'll want to confirm that you're viewing the published output in the intended environment. 

Steven Croft

Further to this, I've found that the MP4 replays if the user clicks on it. Is there anyway it can be told to play once and once only? I've right clicked and looked at video editor - nothing. I thought about introducing a variable that if user clicks and that's true it wont play again, but I think it will still play one frame then stop again?

Blake Mohler

Hi all -

I was having issues with the gif not playing, but I tried adding the .gif extension to the end of my filename and dragged and dropped it onto the project instead of using one of the "insert" options.  That fixed the issue for me and it played and looped automatically.  Happy gifing!

Blake

Blake Mohler

I also found out (this may have been posted earlier) that if you try to do any editing other than re-sizing the .gif you will lock it at the initial frame.   I wanted to make mine a circular shape instead of a square, so I instead added a donut smart shape the same color as the background around the outside of the .gif to give it the same effect.

Cheers,

Blake

Jessica Martello

Hey all! I'm (more than a little) late to the party, but another workaround I've used is to record the gif playing on my screen (trim it up real nice after recording) and using the recorded video rather than a .gif. With all of the uncertainty of the file playing "nice" with other systems, it has worked for me to use this method! :)

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi all,

I wanted to provide an update here, as Storyline 2 Update 10 was just released, and included a number of fixes which you can see in the release notes available here. The items you all may be particularly interested in are the following:  Fixed issue where a non-looping GIF would unexpectedly loop in Storyline and it fixed the issue where an animated GIF wouldn't always start playing at the beginning of the animation when it appeared on the slide. You can download the latest update here, and after downloading and installing the latest update you’ll want to republish any existing content to ensure that the updates and fixes are applied.

Let us know if you have any questions, either here or by reaching out to our Support Engineers directly.