Previously, I faced a similar problem, I needed to play .gif file in your project. I had two choices:
using PictureBox from WinForms
using a third-party library, such as WPFAnimatedGif from codeplex.com.
Version with PictureBox did not work for me, and the project could not use external libraries for it. So I made it for myself through Bitmap with help ImageAnimator. Because, standard BitmapImage does not support playback of .gif files.
Full example:
XAML
<Window x:Class="PlayGifHelp.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525" Loaded="MainWindow_Loaded">
<Grid>
<Image x:Name="SampleImage" />
</Grid>
</Window>
Code behind
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
Bitmap _bitmap;
BitmapSource _source;
private BitmapSource GetSource()
{
if (_bitmap == null)
{
string path = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
// Check the path to the .gif file
_bitmap = new Bitmap(path + @"\anim.gif");
}
IntPtr handle = IntPtr.Zero;
handle = _bitmap.GetHbitmap();
return Imaging.CreateBitmapSourceFromHBitmap(handle, IntPtr.Zero, Int32Rect.Empty, BitmapSizeOptions.FromEmptyOptions());
}
private void MainWindow_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
_source = GetSource();
SampleImage.Source = _source;
ImageAnimator.Animate(_bitmap, OnFrameChanged);
}
private void FrameUpdatedCallback()
{
ImageAnimator.UpdateFrames();
if (_source != null)
{
_source.Freeze();
}
_source = GetSource();
SampleImage.Source = _source;
InvalidateVisual();
}
private void OnFrameChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(DispatcherPriority.Normal, new Action(FrameUpdatedCallback));
}
}
Bitmap does not support URI directive, so I load .gif file from the current directory.