Creating a GIF image might seem like a somewhat complicated job, but there are some software solutions on the market that could make the whole thing a lot easier. Such is the case of Active GIF Creator, an application created in order to help you build a personalized animation on the go and save it as a Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file.
The program's interface is clearly designed for practicality rather than good looks as all the features are nicely integrated into the main window and accessible with just a single click via the toolbar buttons.
Active GIF Creator supports transparency for better looking GIF files and it carries a set of editing tools such as a brush, a pen or an eraser. You can easily customize the delay between the photos selected to be included in the animation and also insert effects using a dedicated menu option.
The only thing we missed during our tests was a real-time preview option that could show the modifications in real time, without wasting the time with the 'Update Image' tool.
A good thing is that Active GIF Creator can work with the most common graphic filetypes, namely JPG, BMP, PNG, PCX, PSD, ICO, TGA and WMF, as well as with AVI videos and ANI cursors.
Another nice thing you can do with the help of this application is design 3D and 2D button images, not to mention that it includes a feature for signing the generated GIFs and thus protect them from being stolen and presented as someone else's work.
All things considered, Active GIF Creator is a pretty decent utility that does its job very well. Easy to use and with a good feature pack, this tool can surely help anyone make unique GIF animations with minimal effort.

Limitations:
· Watermark on output GIF files
· Nag screen

What's New in This Release:
· Windows 8 - compatibility
· Improvements in processing of color palettes