Saving .gif images

[SteveDean]

Hi
I am looking for a simple paint like program that can save files as .gif, or another small size w*nd@ws compatible file type. I have Kolor paint and Gpaint, neither of which seem to support gif extensions.
Strangely, my version of gpaint used to save as .gif but after an upgrade it all went wrong!

Any ideas gratefully accepted.

Steve Dean.

[bobplano]

what's wrong with GIMP?

[SteveDean]

There's nothing wrong with Gimp, I just don't have the time to learn to use it! I need something quick and simple. I have been using Gpaint, then opening the file in Gimp and saving it as a .gif, but it's not the ideal way to do things and it takes longer.

[Steveway]

Why not save as .png?
Do you need animations or why do you choose .gif?

[SteveDean]

Basically, I need .gif because they are small enough to email, and second because some parts of the world are still actually using the O/S that you have to pay for, Incredible!

I write Roleplay game material for a living, and so need to send maps and diagrams etc to my editor, I need to be compatible with the rest of the industry, and this is the one sticking point.

Do Wind@ws based programs support or can convert, .PNG?

[smartboyathome]

Of course, I use PNG all the time, and I have no difficulty with using .png in windows AND linux. It is kind of a standard right now for many pictures to use PNG.

[IYY]

PNG is supported in Windows and Mac OS by default.

By the way, The Gimp is not as difficult to learn as it seems if all you want to use it for is paint-like functions.

There is also a commandline way to convert from PNG to GIF (between any graphical formats, for that matter). Just go to the directory where your picture is, and type:

convert mypicturename.png mypicturename.gif

and it's done!

[Steveway]

Also .png files are most of the time much smaller than .gif files and they are supported by almost any OS.
You can even use programs like pngcrush to make them even smaller.

[SteveDean]

That's great, thanks for your help everyone. I haven't been using Ubuntu long, but one thing I have noticed is how friendly and willing to share you all are. I wouldn't go back to the none-free o/s for all the money in the world.

Thanks again,

Steve Dean.