Stykz • Help - Saving vs. Exporting (Creating an Animated GIF)

# Getting Started

## Saving vs. Exporting (Creating an Animated GIF)

Last updated on 10/16/2010

Stykz was designed with the following the guidelines that most professional applications adhere to:

- If the file format that gets created by an application can be reopened by that same application, then allow the user to save the document in that format.
- If the file format that gets created by an application can NOT be reopened by that same application, then allow the user to export the document in that format.

Since Stykz can output animations in a variety of formats (GIF, QuickTime Movies, sequences of individual images) that it cannot open, these are all in the File > Export Animation... dialog box, and File > Save is used only for saving Stykz animation documents.

This is why there is no file format popup menu at the bottom of the File > Save dialog box, but there is in File > Export Animation... :

You can export your animation in a variety of formats, although QuickTime is only listed if you have QuickTime installed. Since Macs always have QuickTime installed, it is the default option and listed at the top of the menu.

## For Pivot Users

Pivot merged both formats it could output and reopen (.piv) with formats it could just output but NOT reopen (Animated GIF, Sequence of images) in the same "Save Animation" dialog box, and so if you are just starting to use Stykz after having used Pivot, you will need to remember to look under File > Export Animation for your GIF output choice, and NOT File > Save As.