Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!ogicse!intelhf!int13!tim
From: tim@int13.hf.intel.com (Timothy E. Forsyth)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: Re: Convert GIF -> BMP ??
Message-ID: <1991Feb22.172914.6282@int13.hf.intel.com>
Date: 22 Feb 91 17:29:14 GMT
References: <1991Feb17.161516.9589@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <1991Feb19.225319.3963@odetics.com> <1991Feb21.154925.9559@fs7.ece.cmu.edu>
Organization: Intel Corp., Desktop Computer Division, Hillsboro, OR
Lines: 37

winstead@faraday.ECE.CMU.EDU (Charles Holden Winstead) writes:

>Does anyone know of a shareware program that will convert GIF files to BMP
>files for use as a windows background?

Try WinGIF v0.90, it is the MOST underrated GIF viewer/converter for Win3.0!
The first time I found it was in the uploads directory of cica, but that
copy disappeared.  Later I got v0.90 from CompuServe and uploaded it to
cica, and it got put in the bmp directory (~/pub/pc/win3/bmp/wingif09.zip).
Someone else uploaded the exact same program as gifview.zip, and it is in
the util directory.

WinGIF has the ability to display GIFs, BMPs, & RLE pictures, it can also
convert to and from these formats.  You can resize and trim the picture, and
dither the picture to 16 colors or 4 level grayscale.  It does some of the
best 16 color dithering from 256 color GIFs that I have ever seen.  Hint,
resize the picture first before dithering for the best results.  This program
is very useful for those running Windows in 800x600x16.  WinGIF also works 
fine in 256 colors.

Another good program is Paint Shop (ps112.zip in the util directory).  It
will let your work with 256 color pictures even when you only have a 16 color
windows setup.  I have used the combinations of these two programs to trim
and scale the picture to 400x600x256 in Paint Shop, then dithered the picture
to 16 colors with WinGIF.  The picture by the way is the 25th Anniversary
Swimsuit Issue cover of Kathy Ireland, giving me two side by side pictures
of Kathy as my background.

WinGIF is a great program.  If you haven't tried it yet, Run, don't walk to
your nearest FTP machine and retreive the program from cica.cica.indiana.edu.

Tim Forsyth

-- 
Tim Forsyth, Intel Corp., Desktop Computer Division, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA
Internet: tim@int13.intel.com or Tim_Forsyth@ccm.hf.intel.com
CompuServe: 74040,2712 (checked once a week)