File Extension ANI

File type: Windows Animated Cursor

About the ANI file type:

If Windows cannot find the appropriate program associated with .ANI files, then your registry may have errors. Check your Windows registry for errors (includes file association errors).

The use of the ANI file extension is for the representation of the animated cursor files utilized by the different Microsoft Windows Operating System platforms. One of the more popular images used by the system is the spinning hour glass along with a host of other custom animated cursors widely available in different host sites on the Internet. These animated cursor files developed by third party developers normally are included in customized desktop themes which can be applied by the user to personalize the computer system. The ANI file extension functions similarly with the CUR file format (static cursors) with the difference being the animated cursor using a series of images to render the animation. This container format is used for storing and reading animated mouse pointers that adhere to the Microsoft RIFF file structure and incorporate information about the animated file. The pieces of data saved in the animated cursor file include order of the step, length, steps, title, and the author of the animation aside from the several frames using the icon format.


Detailed information for file extension ANI

Category: System Files
File format: Proprietary
Open with Windows: Microsoft Windows Operating System, ACDSee Photo Manager
Open with Linux: N/A
The final animation is created similar to a movie or cartoon wherein several icon frames are used for displaying one image after another to create the animation process. Every step or frame in the animated cursor file is displayed based on a defined delay or length that is referred to as frame timing. The unit of measurement used by the ANI file extension is called jiffies where a jiffy represents a 60th of a second or approximately 16.66ms. The images used in the icon are normally bitmap format applied with masking techniques in order to produce transparent areas in the picture file. The non-transparent image is what is seen by the user with the rest of the bitmap image remaining in the background and filled with the transparent color to prevent its display on the screen. Normally, the transparent color is the same as the background color used by the images. The second bitmap image used is referred to as the Mask Bitmap which has black and white colors only with the black region corresponding to the transparent part of the image.