Important: This page deals with GIF Construction Set Professional 3. If you have GIF Construction Set Professional 2, we recommend that you upgrade your software to version 3, as discussed below. A GIF Construction Set Professional 2 registration code will not work with the current version 3 software. Installing GIF Construction Set Professional 3 on a system which currently has a registered copy of GIF Construction Set Professional 2 will not update your version 2 software — it will create a separate installation for GIF Construction Set Professional 3, as an evaluation copy.

Q: I registered GIF Construction Set Professional 2.0a as shareware for $20.00 or $24.99. Is there a reduced cost upgrade path to GIF Construction Set Professional 3?
A: Yes there is. You can upgrade to GIF Construction Set Professional 3 for $12.49. Please see our secure server page or call our toll-free order desk at 1-800-263-1138. Customers in the United States, Europe and Australia can also upgrade through PayPal.

Q: What advantages are there to upgrading to GIF Construction Set Professional 3 if I'm currently using GIF Construction Set Professional 2.
A: Among the improvements in GIF Construction Set Professional 3 are:

• GIF Construction Set Professional 3 is a lot faster and more memory-efficient.
• Its Animation Wizard thumbnails are easier to browse. This is also true for thumbnail images throughout the application.
• The look and feel is more contemporary, and you can personalize GIF Construction Set Professional 3 with your choice of themes.
• Many of the the functions have been redesigned to make them more intuitive and powerful, with previews to show you what you're about to do.
  
  

There are dozens of additional refinements and additions throughout the software.

Q: Does this mean that there will be no further updates for GIF Construction Set Professional 2?
A: Pretty much. We created GIF Construction Set Professional 3 because we'd stretched the architecture of GIF Construction Set Professional 2 as far as we could. GIF Construction Set Professional 2 has reached its end of life, and updates for it will be limited to addressing potential security issues, should any arise. Software support for GIF Construction Set Professional 2 will be discontinued in time.

Q: If I have registered animation plugins for GIF Construction Set Professional 2, will I need to upgrade or re-register them when I upgrade to GIF Construction Set Professional 3?
A: Not really. The plugins haven't changed, but the installers for them have. The current installers know how to install the plugins in GIF Construction Set Professional 3. As such, you won't have to pay for the plugins again, or pay an upgrade fee, but you will need to download the current versions of the plugins you registered.

Q: What hardware is required to run GIF Construction Set Professional 3?
A: Any Windows system running a Pentium or better processor with 128 megabytes of memory or more will be able to run GIF Construction Set Professional 3. 256 megabytes or more is strongly recommended. You will need a display adapter and screen driver capable of handling more than 256 colors at 800 by 600 pixels or better — this describes virtually every system sold in the past few years, and you can probably ignore it.

Q: What if I don't like the new look and feel of GIF Construction Set Professional 3?
A: You can select the Retro theme in Setup that will make GIF Construction Set Professional 3 look pretty much like GIF Construction Set Professional 2, save that it will have faster performance, better thumbnails and so on.

Q: Can I install GIF Construction Set Professional 3 on the same system as GIF Construction Set Professional 2 without interaction?
A: Yes you can — the two applications have nothing to do with each other.

Q: What is the upgrade policy for GIF Construction Set Professional 3
A: Registered users of GIF Construction Set Professional 3 or users who have upgraded an earlier registration to GIF Construction Set Professional 3 are entitled to a minimum of one year of no-cost downloadable upgrades for GIF Construction Set Professional 3, as they become available.

Q: I thought GIF Construction Set Professional cost $20.00 to register — the web page says it costs $24.99. Was I looking at GIF Construction Set from a nearly-identical parallel quantum universe?
A: This is unlikely, as most parallel quantum universes have prices in Arcturian mega-credits, rather than dollars. It's with sincere regret that as of January 1, 2004, we caved to the demands of our bookeepers and increased the price for GIF Construction Set Professional. In the defense of our bookeepers, however, we should note that the price of GIF Construction Set hadn't increased since its initial shareware release in 1995. Needless to say, the price of feeding our programmers has not remained constant.

Q: Why are there periodic upgrades for GIF Construction Set? Does this mean that it's inherently unstable?
A: All software is a work in progress, or at least, it should be. GIF Construction Set Professional is designed to address the needs of its users, and over time those needs change. The software changes to meet them.

We think up new features to add to GIF Construction Set Professional fairly regularly, and we frequently receive suggestions or requests from its users that result in new features as well. We also aggressively stomp any bugs that turn up, although after ten years in existence, most of the ones we find are largely theoretical — issues that could be a problem, but which haven't actually bothered anyone yet.

Finally, GIF Construction Set requires occasional fine-tuning to deal with updates to Windows, not all of which are entirely kind to the software that runs under them.

Because downloadable software is extremely inexpensive to distribute, there's no reason for us to withhold new features and bug fixes until there's a major new version of GIF Construction Set ready to release. Updates — released with incremented patch levels — are available for download pretty much when we complete them.

If you have not already done so, we recommend that you either add your e-mail address to our e-mail update list or install our Alchemy Mindworks Up2Date notification agent to be informed when new releases of GIF Construction Set are available.

You can install updated versions of GIF Construction Set Professional over your previous installation of the software. Your previous GIF Construction Set Professional registration code will be located by the newer software.

Q: I want to reinstall GIF Construction Set but I don't have all the patches between the patch level of my original software and the current version. Can I download them?
A: You don't need them. The current patch embodies all the previous patches. If you're a registered user of any patch level of the 3.0 series of GIF Construction Set Professional, you should do the following:

1. Download and install the current version of GIF Construction Set Professional from our web page.
2. Run GIF Construction Set Professional and exit it.
   
   

Your installation of GIF Construction Set Professional is now completely up to date.

Q: Do I really need 30 megabytes of hard drive space to use GIF Construction Set Professional?
A: No, you need 30 megabytes to install it. Over fifteen megabytes are used for temporary files created by the installer, which will delete them as soon as it's done. The application files occupy about twelve megabytes.

Q: How does the GIF Construction Set UltraLight software included with Graphic Workshop Professional compare to the stand-alone GIF Construction Set Professional software that registers for $24.99?
A: GIF Construction Set UltraLight is a considerably reduced version of the stand-alone GIF Construction Set package. It includes complete block editing and Alchemy Mindworks' powerful Animation Wizard to quickly build animations from your source art. It lacks the Banner, Transition, Spin, Wide-palette GIF and LED Sign wizards of GIF Construction Set; some user interface elements, such as the tool bar; importing from file formats other than GIF; block management and manipulation; Supercompressor; integral Paint support and several other advanced features found in the stand-alone version.

GIF Construction Set UltraLight is positioned for occasional creators of animated GIF files, or for applications wherein you need to do nothing more than assemble source frames into animations. Serious GIF artists will probably find the stand-alone GIF Construction Set Professional to be a more useful tool.

Q: I have previously registered GIF Construction Set Professional. Recently, I had to re-install the software on a new system or on a reformatted hard drive. How can I re-register it?
A: This is actually a two-part question. If you have lost your registration code, you'll need to get a replacement code before you can re-register your software. Please see the Lost Registration Code Robot to get your code e-mailed to you.

If you have your registration code — our compliments on a well-organized desk — you can enter it either when you reinstall your software or in a previously-installed copy. In the former case you'll be prompted for the registration name and code during installation. In the latter case, you'll need to:

1. Run GIF Construction Set Professional.
2. Click on the wrench — the Setup button — in the tool bar.
3. A dialog will appear. Enter your code and name.
4. Click on OK and exit the application to save your code.
   
   

Note that none of the foregoing applies if you have a registration code for GIF Construction Set Classic — GIF Construction Set Classic codes are words, while GIF Construction Set Professional codes have fourteen digits and three dashes. A GIF Construction Set Classic code cannot be used to register GIF Construction Set Professional.

Q: Is there a lower-cost upgrade path to GIF Construction Set Professional for previously registered users of GIF Construction Set Classic?
A: 'fraid not. Because of the low cost of the software, we have not been able to offer a discount for previously registered users.

Q: How can I uninstall GIF Construction Set Professional.
A: You can uninstall GIF Construction Set Professional through Add/Remove Programs in the Windows Control Panel.

Q: I couldn't find an uninstall entry in Add/Remove Programs for GIF Construction Set Professional. How can I uninstall it manually?
A: This appears to happen as a result of an as yet unidentified security application preventing GIF Construction Set Professional's uninstall information from being added to the Add/Remove Programs applications list during installation. We're still trying to nail this one down. You can uninstall GIF Construction Set Professional manually by deleting the folder it installed into — that will be C:\Program Files\Alchemy Mindworks\GIF Construction Set Professional 3 by default.

Q: I would like to use a paint application of my choosing in GIF Construction Set Professional, rather than the default Microsoft Paint. Can I do this?
A: Yes you can. Note that your new paint software must accept a file name passed to it as a command line argument, and it must read and write BMP files. Make sure GIF Construction Set Professional is not running when you do this.

1. Open the file \WINDOWS\GCSPRO30.INI with Windows Notepad.
2. Locate these lines:
   PaintbrushName = MSPAINT.EXE
   PaintbrushPath = c:\Program Files\Accessories\MSPAINT.EXE
   
3. Change the right part of PaintbrushName = to the EXE file for your paint application.
   Do not include the path.
4. Delete the right part of PaintbrushPath =
   
5. Save the file.
   
   

Now run GIF Construction Set Professional. It should search for and find your paint application. If the paint application search dialog does not appear when GIF Construction Set Professional runs, click on the wrench button in the tool bar, enable the Search for Paintbrush item and run GIF Construction Set Professional again.

Not all paint applications are suitable for use with GIF Construction Set Professional. If you use this procedure, you're on your own. To restore GIF Construction Set Professional to its default state — so it uses Microsoft Paint as its paint application — delete the PaintbrushName and PaintbrushPath lines from GCSPRO30.INI.

Q: When I attempt to access the Manual feature of GIF Construction Set Professional, I am told that no application can be found to access the document. What's wrong?
A: The Manual documents are HTML files — the same document type used for web pages — and are opened by a web browser. They have the file extension .HTM, rather than .HTML. Assuming that you have Netscape or Internet Explorer installed on your system, your problem is being caused by the .HTM file type not being associated with your browser. Here's how to fix this:

1. Run Windows Explorer — not Intenet Explorer. You can run Windows Explorer by right-clicking on the Start button in the Windows Task Bar and selecting Explore from the menu that appears.
2. Navigate to the parent folder of GIF Construction Set Professional. This will be C:\Program Files\Alchemy Mindworks\GIF Construction Set Professional if you installed the software it its default folder.
3. Select the /html folder. You will see a number of files with the extension .HTM.
4. Double-click on any .HTM file. If no application has been associated with the .HTM extension, an Open With dialog will appear. Enable the Always Use This Program to Open This File option and select iexplore from the list of applications.
   
   

You have created a file association for the .HTM file type. The Manual function in GIF Construction Set Professional should work correctly.

Q: I'm using GIF Construction Set Professional's Animation Wizard. I can't see a Build button, as described in the documentation, or the right side of the Animation Wizard window extends beyond the right edge of my screen. Is this the result of deranged virtual street mimes with chainsaws?
A: Yes it is... and no it isn't. You can never really tell about mimes.

The new Animation Wizard window is a bit large. While it will fit comfortably on your screen if you have a normal desktop configuration, it will prove to be a touch oversized if you use a 640 by 480 pixel screen resolution, or 800 by 600 pixels with a large font option selected.

There are several ways to address this problem.

• Reconfigure Windows to use a higher resolution desktop.
  
  
  1. Click on the Windows Start button, select Settings and open the Control Panel.
  2. Open the Display applet of the Control Panel.
  3. Select the Settings tab of the Display applet.
  4. Increase the screen area. 1024 by 768 is a safe choice, and the resulting increase in desktop real estate should benefit all your Windows applications. Make sure that doing so doesn't reduce the Colors setting to 256 colors.
     
     
• Reconfigure Windows to use small fonts.
  
  
  1. Click on the Windows Start button, select Settings and open the Control Panel.
  2. Open the Display applet of the Control Panel.
  3. Select the Settings tab of the Display applet.
  4. Click on Advanced.
  5. Select Small Fonts in the Display control group.
     
     
• Access the Build function by right-clicking in the rightmost list of the Animation Wizard window. This will let you activate the Build option even if the Build button is not visible. This is a bit ugly, but it's wholly workable.
  
  

Q: Can I use GIF Construction Set Professional to add sound to GIF or SWF files?
A: Unfortunately, you can't add sound to GIF files. The GIF format as it's implemented by web browsers does not support audio. You can add sound to SWF files exported by GIF Construction Set Professional by including a WAV file in the export. The details of this are discussed in the section of the GIF Construction Set Professional Reference document that deals with SWF files.

Q: Can I use GIF Construction Set Professional to create animations for use with Microsoft's PowerPoint application.
A: We don't use PowerPoint in house, and as such we are unable to assist you with it directly. Having said this, a substantial number of GIF Construction Set Professional users have reported creating animations which they successfully imported into PowerPoint documents. Our understanding of this situation is as follows:

• Older versions of PowerPoint cannot import GIF files directly. If you are using one of these versions of PowerPoint, you need to export your animated GIF file to an AVI file from GIF Construction Set Professional's Movie function, found in its File menu. See the GIF Construction Set Professional Reference document in the Manual for more about this. Not all the features of GIF files can be represented in an AVI file.
  
  
• We've been told that the current version of PowerPoint can import animated GIF files directly. If you are using a version of PowerPoint which supports GIF animation, you can build animations with any of GIF Construction Set Professional's animation tools, save them to disk and import them directly into your PowerPoint documents. We have heard reports of some features of the GIF format, such as looping, not behaving in PowerPoint as they do in web browsers.
  
  

As we don't use PowerPoint in house, we have been unable to verify any of the foregoing.

Q: I attempt to run GIF Construction Set Professional. It gets as far as the introductory screen and locks up. What's the likelihood of this being a higher-order dimension quantum physics thing that I slept through in high school?
A: Don't get your mesons in a twist just yet. Here's a simpler solution.

1. With GIF Construction Set not running, use Windows NotePad to open the file C:\WINDOWS\GCSPRO30.INI or C:\WINNT\GCSPRO30.INI.
2. Locate the line:
       ShowStartupWindow = 1
   and change it to read:
       ShowStartupWindow = 0
3. Save the file and exit NotePad.
   
   

GIF Construction Set Professional should open normally when you run it. Please submit a support request if the problem persists.

Q: When I attempt to use the GIF Construction Set Professional Paint function, Windows Paint attempts to run but crashes immediately. Is this an indication that Windows Paint has been eating genetically modified crackers when I wasn't looking?
A: This is unlikely, as Windows Paint as shipped with most releases of Windows doesn't have any fingers. This problem pops up occasionally under newer releases of Windows, such as Windows XP and Windows 2000. Locate the desktop shortcut icon for Windows Paint and right-click on it. Select Properties from the menu that appears. When the Properties dialog opens, make sure Windows 95 Compatibility Mode is disabled.

Q: All my animations work correctly in GIF Construction Set, but when I upload them to my server, they don't seem to be moving. Has my web server been affected by some sort of quantum time fluctuation?
A: Time is an illusion perpetrated by the manufacturers of space. While there are a number of possible causes for this problem, one common issue involves the ZoneAlarm security program. If you use ZoneAlarm, disable its Restrict Animations option and see if you still have a problem.

Q: When I attempt to use the GIF to Movie function to export an animation to an AVI file, GIF Construction Set Profesisonal says there's been an error writing the file. What are the odds of this being the result of electromagnetic radiation from a parallel universe affecting my hard drive?
A: Not all that good. You're actually encountering a video compression codec issue. Video compression codecs are what Windows — and hence GIF Construction Set — uses to write video. The installer for this software chooses what it thinks is a suitable video compression codec, but some configurations of Windows manage to fool it into choosing poorly. This issue is easily fixed.

Click on the yellow wrench in the GIF Construction Set tool bar to open Setup and click on Select Video Compression Codec. The dialog that appears is actually part of Windows, so it's not as intuitive as we'd like. Specifically, it won't tell you which codec you currently have selected.

Start with the Intel IYUV codec, which is installed and works properly under Windows XP in most situations. Having done this, try to export your file. If this works, you're done.

If it doesn't, go back and try a different codec. Note that some of the standard codecs available are optimzed for compression rather than quality — if you select one that works but produces ugly video, keep trying.