Tools to read and write animated gif files (2024)

These functions can be used to read and write animated gifs. They are intended for use with 4-D image arrays of various type. Supported types include RGB/RGBA arrays, as well as indexed images. Indexed mages with transparent content can be specified by a corresponding vector of indices, or by simply appending an alpha channel to the image array itself. When writing, colormaps, transparency, and disposal method can be specified per-frame or globally.

Optional functionality requires the use of imagemagick and is exclusively intended to work in a *nix environment, but default settings should work on other systems. I have no intention of modifying this to be more robust in that aspect.

====================

GIFREAD(FILEPATH, {KEYWORDS})

reads all frames of an animated gif into a 4-D image array

====================

GIFWRITE(INARRAY, {DISPOSALMETHOD}, FILEPATH, {DELAY}, {WRITEMETHOD})

GIFWRITE(INARRAY, MAP, {TRANSPARENTIDX}, {DISPOSALMETHOD}, FILEPATH, {DELAY}, {WRITEMETHOD})

Write image stack to an animated gif

Since R2018b, there are extant bugs in the support files for imread() which cripple MATLAB's ability to read most GIF files without destructive alteration or complete loss of image data. I alone am in no position to motivate a bugfix or troubleshoot versions after R2019b. Until I write a complete replacement for the GIF functionality of imread/imfinfo, be very careful that your data isn't being damaged by MATLAB.

These tools are merely a subset of the Matlab Image Manipulation Toolbox (FEX)