The ANI file format is a graphics file format used for animated mouse cursors on the Microsoft Windows operating system.

The format is based on the Microsoft RIFF file format, which is used as a container for storing the individual frames (which are standard Windows icons) of the animation.

File structure

Animated cursors contain the following information: (in order of position in the file)

• Name (optional)
• Artist information (optional)
• Default frame rate
• Sequence information
• Cursor hotspot
• Individual frame(s)., in ICO format
• Individual frame rates (optional)

Frame rates are measured in jiffies, with one jiffy equal to 1/60 of a second, or 16.666 ms.

Sequencing

Sequence information present in the file determines the sequence of frames, and allows frames to be played more than once, or in a different order than in which they appear in the file. For example, if the animation contains three different images numbered 1, 2 and 3, and the sequence is 1-2-3-2-1, (five frames) then only three icons need to be stored in the file, thereby saving storage space.

See also

• Cursor (computers)
• ICO (icon image file format)

External links

• Description of the ani file format
• Vulnerability in Windows Animated Cursor Handling
• .Ani Editor (Virus Free)

cs:ANI de:ANI it:ANI (formato di file) ja:ANI ( ) fi:ANI