comp.lang.idl-pvwave archive - RDF feed
type: channel
description: Messages from Usenet group comp.lang.idl-pvwave, compiled by Paulo Penteado
items: Re: animated gif's with IDL

Re: animated gif's with IDL
type: item
description: Martin Schultz wrote: > > Hi, > > I am trying to create a little gif animation using IDL (for those who > don't know it: a powerful data analysis package). IDL has a WRITE_GIF > routine and it allows storage of multiple gif images in one file. So far > so good. Only, if I want to watch my animation with a web browser > (Netscape), it runs through exactly once, then stops. Can anyone tell me > how to change a gif file so that it loops ad infinitum (or even better: > does anyone have an IDL routine that does this) ? > > Thanks, > Martin. > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------------ ------- > Dr. Martin Schultz > Department for Earth&Planetary Sciences, Harvard University > 186 Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA-02138, USA > > phone: (617)-496-8318 > fax : (617)-495-4551 > > e-mail: mgs@io.harvard.edu > IDL-homepage: http://www-as.harvard.edu/people/staff/mgs/idl/ > ------------------------------------------------------------ ------- Martin, I don't know anything about your IDL software but there are over 60 .gif animation applications available. I would be very surprised any of them lacked a check box for looping the animation. Many people thing Ulead has one of the better if not the best .gif animation application around. You can download a fully functional demo at http://www.ulead.com. I seem to recall it works for either a certain number of uses or a certain time period. Its called Ulead GIF Animator 2.0. Load the gif animations from your IDL software into it, check the looping infinite check box, run the optimization wizard and save it. It will loop then. You can also control the animation speed by setting the image delay for each image. Hope this helps. Good luck. -- Roger A. Moncrief http://www.indrev.com Indepth Reviews Indepth reviews of trueSpace 3.1, Imagine for Windows, Ray Dream Studio 4.1, Bryce 2, World Construction Set 2, Detailer, Goo, Click & Create, CourseWorks 3.2 CBT, Desktop Support Factory, 3D Deck, Kitchen & Bath,…
creator: Roger A. Moncrief
date: 1998-03-24T08:00:00-00:00

Re: animated gif's with IDL
type: item
description: In article <351830D2.41C6@io.harvard.edu>, Martin Schultz <mgs@io.harvard.edu> wrote: > I am trying to create a little gif animation using IDL (for those who > don't know it: a powerful data analysis package). IDL has a WRITE_GIF > routine and it allows storage of multiple gif images in one file. So far > so good. Only, if I want to watch my animation with a web browser > (Netscape), it runs through exactly once, then stops. Can anyone tell me > how to change a gif file so that it loops ad infinitum (or even better: > does anyone have an IDL routine that does this) ? For those with a Mac available, I offer the following solution. There must be similar products (to GraphicConverter) for the PC and Unix. The following creates a set of raw image files called frame.0000, frame.0001, etc. FOR frame = 0L, nframes-1L DO BEGIN ;Draw your graphic here image =TVRD() ;Read image from window OPENW, ounit, STRING(frame,FORMAT="(I4.4)"),$;Open new file for writing /GET_LUN image = ROTATE(image,7) ;Flip image right side up WRITEU, ounit, image ;Write image to file FREE_LUN, ounit ;Release out unit and file ENDFOR Move the files to a Macintosh. Use GraphicConverter (highly-rated shareware) to convert the images to a QuickTime movie. Import the figures as filetype RAW. QuickTime lets you set the frame rate, the compressor, the image quality, etc. You can display it with a web browser, and you get a slider, so you can go backwards, forwards, jump to any frame, etc. Regards, Ken
creator: bowman
date: 1998-03-24T08:00:00-00:00

Re: animated gif's with IDL
type: item
description: In article <351830D2.41C6@io.harvard.edu>, Martin Schultz <mgs@io.harvard.edu> wrote: > I am trying to create a little gif animation using IDL (for those who > don't know it: a powerful data analysis package). IDL has a WRITE_GIF > routine and it allows storage of multiple gif images in one file. So far > so good. Only, if I want to watch my animation with a web browser > (Netscape), it runs through exactly once, then stops. Can anyone tell me > how to change a gif file so that it loops ad infinitum (or even better: > does anyone have an IDL routine that does this) ? Apparently, the /MULTIPLE keyword was added in IDL/v5. In UNIX, we've been using a program called whirlgif to combine a series of GIF stills written by the older version of WRITE_GIF in IDL into a movie. This allows you to control how many times the GIF movie loops through, or you can let it loop indefinitely. You should be able to find whirlgif on the Web. Here is the IDL code we use as a front-end to whirlgif. Bill Thompson ============================================================ =================== PRO WR_MOVIE, FILENAME, IMAGE_ARRAY, IFRAME, NFRAMES, MPEG=MPEG, $ GIF=K_GIF, PICT=PICT, DELETE=DELETE, FRAMEDELAY=FRAMEDELAY, $ LOOPCNT=LOOPCNT, NOSCALE=NOSCALE, JAVASCRIPT=JAVASCRIPT, $ INCREMENT=INCREMENT, URL=URL, TITLE=TITLE, TOP=TOP ;+ ; Project : SOHO - CDS ; ; Name : WR_MOVIE ; ; Purpose : Convert an array of frames to a MPEG or GIF movie. ; ; Explanation : This procedure takes a three dimensional array of images ; in the form (X-dim, Y-dim, Frames) and converts it to a ; series of GIF files, where each GIF contains one image ; frame. The procedure then will convert the GIF files to ; a GIF movie (viewable with Netscape >2.0) and/or a MPEG ; movie. The procedure uses the program mpeg_encode to ; create the MPEG movie and the program whirlgif to create the ; GIF movie. ; ; This procedure creates a subdirectory /mpegframes to store the ; individual GIF image frames. If the procedure is called wit…
creator: thompson
date: 1998-03-25T08:00:00-00:00