ANI (file format)
Encyclopedia
The ANI file format is a graphics file format used for animated
mouse cursors
on the Microsoft Windows
operating system
.
The format is based on the Microsoft RIFF file format, which is used as a container
for storing the individual frames (which are standard Windows icons
) of the animation.
Frames rates are measured in jiffies
, with one jiffy equal to 1/60 of a second, or 16.666 ms.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
mouse cursors
Cursor (computers)
In computing, a cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a computer monitor or other display device that will respond to input from a text input or pointing device. The flashing text cursor may be referred to as a caret in some cases...
on the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
.
The format is based on the Microsoft RIFF file format, which is used as a container
Container format
A container or wrapper format is a meta-file format whose specification describes how different data elements and metadata coexist in a computer file....
for storing the individual frames (which are standard Windows icons
ICO (icon image file format)
The ICO file format is an image file format for computer icons in Microsoft Windows. ICO files contain one or more small images at multiple sizes and color depths, such that they may be scaled appropriately...
) of the animation.
File structure
Animated cursors contain the following information: (in order of position in the file)- Name (optional)
- Artist information (optional)
- Default frame rate
- Sequence information
- Cursor hotspot
- Individual frame(s)., in ICO formatICO (icon image file format)The ICO file format is an image file format for computer icons in Microsoft Windows. ICO files contain one or more small images at multiple sizes and color depths, such that they may be scaled appropriately...
- Individual frame rates (optional)
Frames rates are measured in jiffies
Jiffy (time)
Jiffy is an informal term for any unspecified short period of time, as in "I'll be back in a jiffy". From this it has acquired a number of more precise applications for short, very short, or extremely short periods of time...
, with one jiffy equal to 1/60 of a second, or 16.666 ms.