# Problem saving animated GIFs

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-saving-animated-gifs/121112>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 27, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-saving-animated-gifs/121112 "2002-07-27T14:00:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Iguana\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@Iguana\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iguana_Boy)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-saving-animated-gifs/121112/1 "2002-07-27T14:00:54Z")

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I got sent an email recently containing an animated GIF that I thought was quite funny and wanted to save.

I did the usual “right-click, save picture as” routine but my computer would only let me save the picture in non-animated bitmap format, not what I wanted.

I am the first to admit that I am not the most computer literate person, and this may (hopefully!) have a very simple solution, but I can’t work it out!

I am running Windows XP, and using Outlook (not Outlook Express) for my emails.

I can save animated GIFs from the internet without difficulty, this is only a problem with my email, and I have got other people to send me animated GIFs to check that it isn’t a problem with just this email.

Can anyone please help?

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**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-saving-animated-gifs/121112/2 "2002-07-27T14:17:26Z")

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Try save it as bitmap, then rename the extension to GIF to see if the contents are saved intact.

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**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-saving-animated-gifs/121112/3 "2002-07-27T14:59:13Z")

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\>\> Try save it as bitmap, then rename the extension to GIF

I bet that will not work. how could it? An animated GIF has several images and a BMP only one. Not to mention the different format.

Try this: forward it to an email account you can acces with your browser, like Hotmail. Then just save it in the usuakl way.

I have never had this problem with OE.

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**Author:** ![Iguana\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@Iguana\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iguana_Boy)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problem-saving-animated-gifs/121112/4 "2002-07-27T16:10:42Z")

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**Urban Ranger** - thanks for the suggestion, but it doesn’t work.

**Sailor** - thanks! That works - not with Hotmail strangely, but it does work with Yahoo.

I would still like to correct the problem in OE though, but at least now I have a work-around solution!