Why won't my animated gifs work on Macs?

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Kalitechnis

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Greetings from a new subsriber, a most humble PC user.

Please can anyone tell me why IE on Macs won't run my website's animated gifs (most of them, that is)?

I am concerned because I am hoping to find work in CG, and I want potential employers to be able to see it as it should be seen.

I created the gifs on ImageReady on my PC.
Exactly the same happens with Netscape/Firefox on PCs.

Will someone who has Safari be so kind as to try out the site and see if the gifs work on that?

The animations, (not really an animation -more a revelation- as nothing moves) all the images (thin thumbnail) and buttons, appear out of the white background, as the site opens (on a timeline). The only other animated gifs are the new thumbnails (links to larger images) that appear on top of the 8 original ones, on the other pages.

You can see my site here

I have tried taking them out of the preload list as I figured this might have been the reason, but it made no difference.
As far as I can see, they should work.

There are quite a few as you can see, and a few do in fact (occasionally) work. The expanding bordered white box that is the first part of the opening sequence (timeline) works without fail (on the Mac I tested it on). Of the rest that don’t work, it is the final frames of each that are shown.

They work perfectly on IE and Opera on the PC.

By the way, I created the site on Dreamweaver MX.

Any elucidation about this would be very much appreciated. While not vital (after all the images are shown), it does spoil the effect of the images appearing out of nowhere.

Many thanks,

Kalitechnis
 
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K

Kalitechnis

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jerodhusvar,

Thanks for your reply, and compliment.

But did you actually see the images (the thin thumbnails) and buttons appearing out of the white BG? They should all do so on that opening page.

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Why don't you do it in flash, that way it loads faster and you will not have these type of problems..?
 
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Kalitechnis said:
But did you actually see the images (the thin thumbnails) and buttons appearing out of the white BG? They should all do so on that opening page.

K
Safari: Looks fantastic, thumbnails show. I clicked on sailing and the image of the ketch sailing rail down rendered beautifully :)
 
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Kalitechnis

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Murlyn & Witeshark,

Thanks for your input.

Murlyn, I would love to do it in Flash, but it's too great a learning curve for me at the moment-and anyway, it appears that you cannot use photos (complex graphics..is that not so?)
If I find that these animated gifs can be done in flash, I'll learn..I know the result would be much better.


Witeshark, did the images and buttons fade in (so to speak) on the opening page?

Glad you liked the site..

K.
 
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I like the site - original and easy to use. It looks to me like the images appear in the right order. One after other left to right and down to up, fading in.

You can import photos into flash quite easily. My memory's a bit sketchy but I think you just go file > import and choose your image, then put it in the library.
 
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Yep, or drag and drop :) Take this site for instance that I converted to flash for a client:

http://www.altstrategies.com/rick/

Lots of photos.. I didn't do the design, but I did put it together in flash :)
 
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Kalitechnis said:
Witeshark, did the images and buttons fade in (so to speak) on the opening page?

Glad you liked the site..

K.
No sign of any fading
 
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K

Kalitechnis

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Folks,

Many thanks for all your efforts.

The gap in communications is because a night has passed here in the UK.

So Muso, you see the "animations" ie. fading in of the images and buttons, but Witeshark you don't?
Muso, are you using Safari, and Witeshark Internet Explorer?

Murlyn, that site is of course a Pro's site, and superb. But the images are not part of any animation, are they? They're just the background, no?

So with Flash, you are claiming I can create exactly the same effect..taking two images (one a white rectangle with the border- as is the first frame of my animations- and the other the end image, and "tween" them? Of course I can do that work as individual frames in PS, but tweening takes away all the time and effort.

To fade in just like mine, but obviously better, and smaller in file size?

And can these Flash files be placed exactly as I have in the layout, and be activated by a timeline, as I have done?

My thanks to you all for your time, encouragements and help.
I hope you will back- I need a bit of guidance with flash. I find it too mindboggling. Mind you I thought that of DW, until I jumped in at the deep end, doing this site on it.

K
 
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Yes, on Safari they fade in all in sequential order.
 
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Kalitechnis

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Strange though that they do not on Mac Internet Explorer, but do on IE on a PC.

I must get to grips with flash-I've been trying a fair bit this am, and can see how to import images, use layers etc., and the need to create symbols, but from there I'm lost when I look at the properties palette. It just needs time and perseverance, I'm sure. Thing is I don't have that much time. I had wanted to use flash originally on this site, but gave up and used animated gifs (for the 1st time also) instead.

I presume you have no idea why they don't work, either on a Mac or Gecko based browsers on PC?
I have been posting on several forums-mozillazine, a PS forum, Dreamweaver forum, and others, and on most people have been very willing to help, but nobody has actually any idea why.

I've scoured the net, and found no sign of a similar issue.
OK, Flash, here I come..

K.
 
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I never use ie, only Safari
 
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Kalitechnis

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I think I have found the key to this.

I've been trying to find the common thread to the gifs that do not animate. Looking at them, there is no apparent difference.

But..when you look at the site as it opens, along with the other pages (page design, text effects, etc.) the animations that do work are the first ones to load in that page. Apart from the opening page -the first animation of which is the expanding box- the only animations are the new images that appear (linking to full images) and like the expanding box on the opening page, it is the first of each series only that works.

So it is a preloading issue after all. I have just tried taking out all of the animations of the preload list, and still only the first animation works. But I'm still sure this is the key to it.

How to get around it though..beats me, but I'm only a relative novice at this, and especially with DW.

Any ideas anybody?

K.
 
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Yeah flash will do everything you need it to do, everything an animated gif can do, plus more! :) There were images in the background of that flash file, plus more when you click on 'it' at the bottom and then go through their portfolio . And that stuff is just basic, there is so much that you can do with flash.
 
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Kalitechnis

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But Murlyn,

I cannot see any way of setting up a link to another page, from a .swf file (in Dreamweaver).

Can you tell me how can I set up links, please?

K.
 
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You are right, you don't do it in Dreamweaver, when you create your flash file you do it within flash. The best way is to read a tutorial, buy a book, etc etc on Flash, many sites out there that will help you with flash. So check out those places since there is no reason for me to duplicate everything that is out there :) The flash tutorial within flash itself is quite good. :)

Cheers!
 
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Kalitechnis

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Murlyn,

I know, I have been negligent learning Flash, but , hey-before I had done this site, DW was just as over-awing as Flash is to me now! My poor brain is near overload.

Will get down to some serious flashing!

thanks for all your help,

K.
 
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No worries and have fun! And warn me when you're in California.. I don't want to be too near when you do your serious flashing :)
 
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K

Kalitechnis

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OK, I'll make sure you're on holiday!


If I get started in CG, I'll probably splash out on a Mac (I always wanted one, but when it comes getting a comp for the family, PCs reign, I'm afraid) , in which case I'll be back here for sure.

This has been a good visit.

Thanks again to all you helpful MacFolk,

K.
 

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