[.net] How do I get an animated gif to work in WPF?

What control type should I use - Image, MediaElement, etc.?

Adding on to the main response that recommends the usage of WpfAnimatedGif, you must add the following lines in the end if you are swapping an image with a Gif to ensure the animation actually executes:

ImageBehavior.SetRepeatBehavior(img, new RepeatBehavior(0));
ImageBehavior.SetRepeatBehavior(img, RepeatBehavior.Forever);

So your code will look like:

var image = new BitmapImage();
image.BeginInit();
image.UriSource = new Uri(fileName);
image.EndInit();
ImageBehavior.SetAnimatedSource(img, image);
ImageBehavior.SetRepeatBehavior(img, new RepeatBehavior(0));
ImageBehavior.SetRepeatBehavior(img, RepeatBehavior.Forever);

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.

I had this issue, until I discovered that in WPF4, you can simulate your own keyframe image animations. First, split your animation into a series of images, title them something like "Image1.gif", "Image2,gif", and so on. Import those images into your solution resources. I'm assuming you put them in the default resource location for images.

You are going to use the Image control. Use the following XAML code. I've removed the non-essentials.

<Image Name="Image1">
   <Image.Triggers>
      <EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Image.Loaded"
         <EventTrigger.Actions>
            <BeginStoryboard>
               <Storyboard>
                   <ObjectAnimationUsingKeyFrames Duration="0:0:1" Storyboard.TargetProperty="Source" RepeatBehavior="Forever">
                      <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:0">
                         <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                            <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image1.gif"/>
                         </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                      </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                     <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:0.25">
                        <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                           <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image2.gif"/>
                        </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                     </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                     <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:0.5">
                        <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                           <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image3.gif"/>
                        </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                     </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                     <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:0.75">
                        <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                           <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image4.gif"/>
                        </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                     </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                     <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:1">
                        <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                           <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image5.gif"/>
                        </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                     </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                  </ObjectAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
               </Storyboard>
            </BeginStoryboard>
         </EventTrigger.Actions>
      </EventTrigger>
   </Image.Triggers>
</Image>

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.

How about this tiny app: Code behind:

public MainWindow()
{
  InitializeComponent();
  Files = Directory.GetFiles(@"I:\images");
  this.DataContext= this;
}
public string[] Files
{get;set;}

XAML:

<Window x:Class="PicViewer.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">
    <Grid>
        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="175" />
            <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
        <ListBox x:Name="lst" ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Files}"/>
        <MediaElement Grid.Column="1" LoadedBehavior="Play" Source="{Binding ElementName=lst, Path=SelectedItem}" Stretch="None"/>
    </Grid>
</Window>

Here is my version of animated image control. You can use standard property Source for specifying image source. I further improved it. I am a russian, project is russian so comments are also in Russian. But anyway you should be able understand everything without comments. :)

/// <summary>
/// Control the "Images", which supports animated GIF.
/// </summary>
public class AnimatedImage : Image
{
    #region Public properties

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets / sets the number of the current frame.
    /// </summary>
    public int FrameIndex
    {
        get { return (int) GetValue(FrameIndexProperty); }
        set { SetValue(FrameIndexProperty, value); }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets / sets the image that will be drawn.
    /// </summary>
    public new ImageSource Source
    {
        get { return (ImageSource) GetValue(SourceProperty); }
        set { SetValue(SourceProperty, value); }
    }

    #endregion

    #region Protected interface

    /// <summary>
    /// Provides derived classes an opportunity to handle changes to the Source property.
    /// </summary>
    protected virtual void OnSourceChanged(DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs aEventArgs)
    {
        ClearAnimation();

        BitmapImage lBitmapImage = aEventArgs.NewValue as BitmapImage;

        if (lBitmapImage == null)
        {
            ImageSource lImageSource = aEventArgs.NewValue as ImageSource;
            base.Source = lImageSource;
            return;
        }

        if (!IsAnimatedGifImage(lBitmapImage))
        {
            base.Source = lBitmapImage;
            return;
        }

        PrepareAnimation(lBitmapImage);
    }

    #endregion

    #region Private properties

    private Int32Animation Animation { get; set; }
    private GifBitmapDecoder Decoder { get; set; }
    private bool IsAnimationWorking { get; set; }

    #endregion

    #region Private methods

    private void ClearAnimation()
    {
        if (Animation != null)
        {
            BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, null);
        }

        IsAnimationWorking = false;
        Animation = null;
        Decoder = null;
    }

    private void PrepareAnimation(BitmapImage aBitmapImage)
    {
        Debug.Assert(aBitmapImage != null);

        if (aBitmapImage.UriSource != null)
        {
            Decoder = new GifBitmapDecoder(
                aBitmapImage.UriSource,
                BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat,
                BitmapCacheOption.Default);
        }
        else
        {
            aBitmapImage.StreamSource.Position = 0;
            Decoder = new GifBitmapDecoder(
                aBitmapImage.StreamSource,
                BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat,
                BitmapCacheOption.Default);
        }

        Animation =
            new Int32Animation(
                0,
                Decoder.Frames.Count - 1,
                new Duration(
                    new TimeSpan(
                        0,
                        0,
                        0,
                        Decoder.Frames.Count / 10,
                        (int) ((Decoder.Frames.Count / 10.0 - Decoder.Frames.Count / 10) * 1000))))
                {
                    RepeatBehavior = RepeatBehavior.Forever
                };

        base.Source = Decoder.Frames[0];
        BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, Animation);
        IsAnimationWorking = true;
    }

    private bool IsAnimatedGifImage(BitmapImage aBitmapImage)
    {
        Debug.Assert(aBitmapImage != null);

        bool lResult = false;
        if (aBitmapImage.UriSource != null)
        {
            BitmapDecoder lBitmapDecoder = BitmapDecoder.Create(
                aBitmapImage.UriSource,
                BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat,
                BitmapCacheOption.Default);
            lResult = lBitmapDecoder is GifBitmapDecoder;
        }
        else if (aBitmapImage.StreamSource != null)
        {
            try
            {
                long lStreamPosition = aBitmapImage.StreamSource.Position;
                aBitmapImage.StreamSource.Position = 0;
                GifBitmapDecoder lBitmapDecoder =
                    new GifBitmapDecoder(
                        aBitmapImage.StreamSource,
                        BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat,
                        BitmapCacheOption.Default);
                lResult = lBitmapDecoder.Frames.Count > 1;

                aBitmapImage.StreamSource.Position = lStreamPosition;
            }
            catch
            {
                lResult = false;
            }
        }

        return lResult;
    }

    private static void ChangingFrameIndex
        (DependencyObject aObject, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs aEventArgs)
    {
        AnimatedImage lAnimatedImage = aObject as AnimatedImage;

        if (lAnimatedImage == null || !lAnimatedImage.IsAnimationWorking)
        {
            return;
        }

        int lFrameIndex = (int) aEventArgs.NewValue;
        ((Image) lAnimatedImage).Source = lAnimatedImage.Decoder.Frames[lFrameIndex];
        lAnimatedImage.InvalidateVisual();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Handles changes to the Source property.
    /// </summary>
    private static void OnSourceChanged
        (DependencyObject aObject, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs aEventArgs)
    {
        ((AnimatedImage) aObject).OnSourceChanged(aEventArgs);
    }

    #endregion

    #region Dependency Properties

    /// <summary>
    /// FrameIndex Dependency Property
    /// </summary>
    public static readonly DependencyProperty FrameIndexProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            "FrameIndex",
            typeof (int),
            typeof (AnimatedImage),
            new UIPropertyMetadata(0, ChangingFrameIndex));

    /// <summary>
    /// Source Dependency Property
    /// </summary>
    public new static readonly DependencyProperty SourceProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            "Source",
            typeof (ImageSource),
            typeof (AnimatedImage),
            new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(
                null,
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender |
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsMeasure,
                OnSourceChanged));

    #endregion
}

Small improvement of GifImage.Initialize() method, which reads proper frame timing from GIF metadata.

    private void Initialize()
    {
        _gifDecoder = new GifBitmapDecoder(new Uri("pack://application:,,," + this.GifSource), BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat, BitmapCacheOption.Default);

        int duration=0;
        _animation = new Int32AnimationUsingKeyFrames();
        _animation.KeyFrames.Add(new DiscreteInt32KeyFrame(0, KeyTime.FromTimeSpan(new TimeSpan(0))));
        foreach (BitmapFrame frame in _gifDecoder.Frames)
        {
            BitmapMetadata btmd = (BitmapMetadata)frame.Metadata;
            duration += (ushort)btmd.GetQuery("/grctlext/Delay");
            _animation.KeyFrames.Add(new DiscreteInt32KeyFrame(_gifDecoder.Frames.IndexOf(frame)+1, KeyTime.FromTimeSpan(new TimeSpan(duration*100000))));
        }            
         _animation.RepeatBehavior = RepeatBehavior.Forever;
        this.Source = _gifDecoder.Frames[0];            
        _isInitialized = true;
    }

How about this tiny app: Code behind:

public MainWindow()
{
  InitializeComponent();
  Files = Directory.GetFiles(@"I:\images");
  this.DataContext= this;
}
public string[] Files
{get;set;}

XAML:

<Window x:Class="PicViewer.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">
    <Grid>
        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="175" />
            <ColumnDefinition Width="*" />
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
        <ListBox x:Name="lst" ItemsSource="{Binding Path=Files}"/>
        <MediaElement Grid.Column="1" LoadedBehavior="Play" Source="{Binding ElementName=lst, Path=SelectedItem}" Stretch="None"/>
    </Grid>
</Window>

Basically the same PictureBox solution above, but this time with the code-behind to use an Embedded Resource in your project:

In XAML:

<WindowsFormsHost x:Name="_loadingHost">
  <Forms:PictureBox x:Name="_loadingPictureBox"/>
</WindowsFormsHost>

In Code-Behind:

public partial class ProgressIcon
{
    public ProgressIcon()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        var stream = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream("My.Namespace.ProgressIcon.gif");
        var image = System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(stream);
        Loaded += (s, e) => _loadingPictureBox.Image = image;
    }
}

Check my code, I hope this helped you :)

         public async Task GIF_Animation_Pro(string FileName,int speed,bool _Repeat)
                    {
    int ab=0;
                        var gif = GifBitmapDecoder.Create(new Uri(FileName), BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat, BitmapCacheOption.Default);
                        var getFrames = gif.Frames;
                        BitmapFrame[] frames = getFrames.ToArray();
                        await Task.Run(() =>
                        {


                            while (ab < getFrames.Count())
                            {
                                Thread.Sleep(speed);
try
{
                                Dispatcher.Invoke(() =>
                                {
                                    gifImage.Source = frames[ab];
                                });
                                if (ab == getFrames.Count - 1&&_Repeat)
                                {
                                    ab = 0;

                                }
                                ab++;
            }
 catch
{
}

                            }
                        });
                    }

or

     public async Task GIF_Animation_Pro(Stream stream, int speed,bool _Repeat)
            {
 int ab = 0;   
                var gif = GifBitmapDecoder.Create(stream , BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat, BitmapCacheOption.Default);
                var getFrames = gif.Frames;
                BitmapFrame[] frames = getFrames.ToArray();
                await Task.Run(() =>
                {


                    while (ab < getFrames.Count())
                    {
                        Thread.Sleep(speed);
    try
    {


                     Dispatcher.Invoke(() =>
                        {
                            gifImage.Source = frames[ab];
                        });
                        if (ab == getFrames.Count - 1&&_Repeat)
                        {
                            ab = 0;

                        }
                        ab++;
    }
     catch{} 



                    }
                });
            }

I use this library: https://github.com/XamlAnimatedGif/WpfAnimatedGif

First, install library into your project (using Package Manager Console):

    PM > Install-Package WpfAnimatedGif

Then, use this snippet into XAML file:

    <Window x:Class="WpfAnimatedGif.Demo.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:gif="http://wpfanimatedgif.codeplex.com"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
        <Grid>
            <Image gif:ImageBehavior.AnimatedSource="Images/animated.gif" />
        ...

I hope helps.

Source: https://github.com/XamlAnimatedGif/WpfAnimatedGif

I, too, did a search and found several different solution in just a thread on the old MSDN forums. (link no longer worked so I removed it)

The simplest to execute seems to be to use a WinForms PictureBox control, and went like this (changed a few things from the thread, most of it the same).

Add a reference to System.Windows.Forms, WindowsFormsIntegration, and System.Drawing to your project first.

<Window x:Class="GifExample.Window1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:wfi="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms.Integration;assembly=WindowsFormsIntegration"
    xmlns:winForms="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms;assembly=System.Windows.Forms"
    Loaded="Window_Loaded" >
    <Grid>
        <wfi:WindowsFormsHost>
            <winForms:PictureBox x:Name="pictureBoxLoading">
            </winForms:PictureBox>
        </wfi:WindowsFormsHost>
    </Grid>
</Window >

Then in the Window_Loaded handler, you would set the pictureBoxLoading.ImageLocation property to the image file path that you want to show.

private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    pictureBoxLoading.ImageLocation = "../Images/mygif.gif";
}

The MediaElement control was mentioned in that thread, but it is also mentioned that it is a rather heavy control, so there were a number of alternatives, including at least 2 homebrewed controls based on the Image control, so this is the simplest.

Here is my version of animated image control. You can use standard property Source for specifying image source. I further improved it. I am a russian, project is russian so comments are also in Russian. But anyway you should be able understand everything without comments. :)

/// <summary>
/// Control the "Images", which supports animated GIF.
/// </summary>
public class AnimatedImage : Image
{
    #region Public properties

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets / sets the number of the current frame.
    /// </summary>
    public int FrameIndex
    {
        get { return (int) GetValue(FrameIndexProperty); }
        set { SetValue(FrameIndexProperty, value); }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Gets / sets the image that will be drawn.
    /// </summary>
    public new ImageSource Source
    {
        get { return (ImageSource) GetValue(SourceProperty); }
        set { SetValue(SourceProperty, value); }
    }

    #endregion

    #region Protected interface

    /// <summary>
    /// Provides derived classes an opportunity to handle changes to the Source property.
    /// </summary>
    protected virtual void OnSourceChanged(DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs aEventArgs)
    {
        ClearAnimation();

        BitmapImage lBitmapImage = aEventArgs.NewValue as BitmapImage;

        if (lBitmapImage == null)
        {
            ImageSource lImageSource = aEventArgs.NewValue as ImageSource;
            base.Source = lImageSource;
            return;
        }

        if (!IsAnimatedGifImage(lBitmapImage))
        {
            base.Source = lBitmapImage;
            return;
        }

        PrepareAnimation(lBitmapImage);
    }

    #endregion

    #region Private properties

    private Int32Animation Animation { get; set; }
    private GifBitmapDecoder Decoder { get; set; }
    private bool IsAnimationWorking { get; set; }

    #endregion

    #region Private methods

    private void ClearAnimation()
    {
        if (Animation != null)
        {
            BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, null);
        }

        IsAnimationWorking = false;
        Animation = null;
        Decoder = null;
    }

    private void PrepareAnimation(BitmapImage aBitmapImage)
    {
        Debug.Assert(aBitmapImage != null);

        if (aBitmapImage.UriSource != null)
        {
            Decoder = new GifBitmapDecoder(
                aBitmapImage.UriSource,
                BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat,
                BitmapCacheOption.Default);
        }
        else
        {
            aBitmapImage.StreamSource.Position = 0;
            Decoder = new GifBitmapDecoder(
                aBitmapImage.StreamSource,
                BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat,
                BitmapCacheOption.Default);
        }

        Animation =
            new Int32Animation(
                0,
                Decoder.Frames.Count - 1,
                new Duration(
                    new TimeSpan(
                        0,
                        0,
                        0,
                        Decoder.Frames.Count / 10,
                        (int) ((Decoder.Frames.Count / 10.0 - Decoder.Frames.Count / 10) * 1000))))
                {
                    RepeatBehavior = RepeatBehavior.Forever
                };

        base.Source = Decoder.Frames[0];
        BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, Animation);
        IsAnimationWorking = true;
    }

    private bool IsAnimatedGifImage(BitmapImage aBitmapImage)
    {
        Debug.Assert(aBitmapImage != null);

        bool lResult = false;
        if (aBitmapImage.UriSource != null)
        {
            BitmapDecoder lBitmapDecoder = BitmapDecoder.Create(
                aBitmapImage.UriSource,
                BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat,
                BitmapCacheOption.Default);
            lResult = lBitmapDecoder is GifBitmapDecoder;
        }
        else if (aBitmapImage.StreamSource != null)
        {
            try
            {
                long lStreamPosition = aBitmapImage.StreamSource.Position;
                aBitmapImage.StreamSource.Position = 0;
                GifBitmapDecoder lBitmapDecoder =
                    new GifBitmapDecoder(
                        aBitmapImage.StreamSource,
                        BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat,
                        BitmapCacheOption.Default);
                lResult = lBitmapDecoder.Frames.Count > 1;

                aBitmapImage.StreamSource.Position = lStreamPosition;
            }
            catch
            {
                lResult = false;
            }
        }

        return lResult;
    }

    private static void ChangingFrameIndex
        (DependencyObject aObject, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs aEventArgs)
    {
        AnimatedImage lAnimatedImage = aObject as AnimatedImage;

        if (lAnimatedImage == null || !lAnimatedImage.IsAnimationWorking)
        {
            return;
        }

        int lFrameIndex = (int) aEventArgs.NewValue;
        ((Image) lAnimatedImage).Source = lAnimatedImage.Decoder.Frames[lFrameIndex];
        lAnimatedImage.InvalidateVisual();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Handles changes to the Source property.
    /// </summary>
    private static void OnSourceChanged
        (DependencyObject aObject, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs aEventArgs)
    {
        ((AnimatedImage) aObject).OnSourceChanged(aEventArgs);
    }

    #endregion

    #region Dependency Properties

    /// <summary>
    /// FrameIndex Dependency Property
    /// </summary>
    public static readonly DependencyProperty FrameIndexProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            "FrameIndex",
            typeof (int),
            typeof (AnimatedImage),
            new UIPropertyMetadata(0, ChangingFrameIndex));

    /// <summary>
    /// Source Dependency Property
    /// </summary>
    public new static readonly DependencyProperty SourceProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            "Source",
            typeof (ImageSource),
            typeof (AnimatedImage),
            new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(
                null,
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender |
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsMeasure,
                OnSourceChanged));

    #endregion
}

I had this issue, until I discovered that in WPF4, you can simulate your own keyframe image animations. First, split your animation into a series of images, title them something like "Image1.gif", "Image2,gif", and so on. Import those images into your solution resources. I'm assuming you put them in the default resource location for images.

You are going to use the Image control. Use the following XAML code. I've removed the non-essentials.

<Image Name="Image1">
   <Image.Triggers>
      <EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Image.Loaded"
         <EventTrigger.Actions>
            <BeginStoryboard>
               <Storyboard>
                   <ObjectAnimationUsingKeyFrames Duration="0:0:1" Storyboard.TargetProperty="Source" RepeatBehavior="Forever">
                      <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:0">
                         <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                            <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image1.gif"/>
                         </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                      </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                     <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:0.25">
                        <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                           <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image2.gif"/>
                        </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                     </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                     <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:0.5">
                        <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                           <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image3.gif"/>
                        </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                     </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                     <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:0.75">
                        <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                           <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image4.gif"/>
                        </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                     </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                     <DiscreteObjectKeyFrames KeyTime="0:0:1">
                        <DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                           <BitmapImage UriSource="Images/Image5.gif"/>
                        </DiscreteObjectKeyFrame.Value>
                     </DiscreteObjectKeyFrames>
                  </ObjectAnimationUsingKeyFrames>
               </Storyboard>
            </BeginStoryboard>
         </EventTrigger.Actions>
      </EventTrigger>
   </Image.Triggers>
</Image>

I, too, did a search and found several different solution in just a thread on the old MSDN forums. (link no longer worked so I removed it)

The simplest to execute seems to be to use a WinForms PictureBox control, and went like this (changed a few things from the thread, most of it the same).

Add a reference to System.Windows.Forms, WindowsFormsIntegration, and System.Drawing to your project first.

<Window x:Class="GifExample.Window1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:wfi="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms.Integration;assembly=WindowsFormsIntegration"
    xmlns:winForms="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms;assembly=System.Windows.Forms"
    Loaded="Window_Loaded" >
    <Grid>
        <wfi:WindowsFormsHost>
            <winForms:PictureBox x:Name="pictureBoxLoading">
            </winForms:PictureBox>
        </wfi:WindowsFormsHost>
    </Grid>
</Window >

Then in the Window_Loaded handler, you would set the pictureBoxLoading.ImageLocation property to the image file path that you want to show.

private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    pictureBoxLoading.ImageLocation = "../Images/mygif.gif";
}

The MediaElement control was mentioned in that thread, but it is also mentioned that it is a rather heavy control, so there were a number of alternatives, including at least 2 homebrewed controls based on the Image control, so this is the simplest.

I am not sure if this has been solved but the best way is to use the WpfAnimatedGid library. It is very easy, simple and straight forward to use. It only requires 2lines of XAML code and about 5 lines of C# Code in the code behind.

You will see all the necessary details of how this can be used there. This is what I also used instead of re-inventing the wheel

Small improvement of GifImage.Initialize() method, which reads proper frame timing from GIF metadata.

    private void Initialize()
    {
        _gifDecoder = new GifBitmapDecoder(new Uri("pack://application:,,," + this.GifSource), BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat, BitmapCacheOption.Default);

        int duration=0;
        _animation = new Int32AnimationUsingKeyFrames();
        _animation.KeyFrames.Add(new DiscreteInt32KeyFrame(0, KeyTime.FromTimeSpan(new TimeSpan(0))));
        foreach (BitmapFrame frame in _gifDecoder.Frames)
        {
            BitmapMetadata btmd = (BitmapMetadata)frame.Metadata;
            duration += (ushort)btmd.GetQuery("/grctlext/Delay");
            _animation.KeyFrames.Add(new DiscreteInt32KeyFrame(_gifDecoder.Frames.IndexOf(frame)+1, KeyTime.FromTimeSpan(new TimeSpan(duration*100000))));
        }            
         _animation.RepeatBehavior = RepeatBehavior.Forever;
        this.Source = _gifDecoder.Frames[0];            
        _isInitialized = true;
    }

An alternative to waiting animation in WPF is:

 <ProgressBar Height="20" Width="100" IsIndeterminate="True"/>

It will show an animated progress bar.

Thanks for your post Joel, it helped me solve WPF's absence of support for animated GIFs. Just adding a little code since I had a heck of a time with setting the pictureBoxLoading.Image property due to the Winforms api.

I had to set my animated gif image's Build Action as "Content" and the Copy to output directory to "Copy if newer" or "always". Then in the MainWindow() I called this method. Only issue is that when I tried to dispose of the stream, it gave me a red envelope graphic instead of my image. I'll have to solve that problem. This removed the pain of loading a BitmapImage and changing it into a Bitmap (which obviously killed my animation because it is no longer a gif).

private void SetupProgressIcon()
{
   Uri uri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/WPFTest;component/Images/animated_progress_apple.gif");
   if (uri != null)
   {
      Stream stream = Application.GetContentStream(uri).Stream;   
      imgProgressBox.Image = new System.Drawing.Bitmap(stream);
   }
}

Its very simple if you use <MediaElement>:

<MediaElement  Height="113" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="12,12,0,0" 
Name="mediaElement1" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="198" Source="C:\Users\abc.gif"
LoadedBehavior="Play" Stretch="Fill" SpeedRatio="1" IsMuted="False" />

I post a solution extending the image control and using the Gif Decoder. The gif decoder has a frames property. I animate the FrameIndex property. The event ChangingFrameIndex changes the source property to the frame corresponding to the FrameIndex (that is in the decoder). I guess that the gif has 10 frames per second.

class GifImage : Image
{
    private bool _isInitialized;
    private GifBitmapDecoder _gifDecoder;
    private Int32Animation _animation;

    public int FrameIndex
    {
        get { return (int)GetValue(FrameIndexProperty); }
        set { SetValue(FrameIndexProperty, value); }
    }

    private void Initialize()
    {
        _gifDecoder = new GifBitmapDecoder(new Uri("pack://application:,,," + this.GifSource), BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat, BitmapCacheOption.Default);
        _animation = new Int32Animation(0, _gifDecoder.Frames.Count - 1, new Duration(new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, _gifDecoder.Frames.Count / 10, (int)((_gifDecoder.Frames.Count / 10.0 - _gifDecoder.Frames.Count / 10) * 1000))));
        _animation.RepeatBehavior = RepeatBehavior.Forever;
        this.Source = _gifDecoder.Frames[0];

        _isInitialized = true;
    }

    static GifImage()
    {
        VisibilityProperty.OverrideMetadata(typeof (GifImage),
            new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(VisibilityPropertyChanged));
    }

    private static void VisibilityPropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if ((Visibility)e.NewValue == Visibility.Visible)
        {
            ((GifImage)sender).StartAnimation();
        }
        else
        {
            ((GifImage)sender).StopAnimation();
        }
    }

    public static readonly DependencyProperty FrameIndexProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register("FrameIndex", typeof(int), typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(0, new PropertyChangedCallback(ChangingFrameIndex)));

    static void ChangingFrameIndex(DependencyObject obj, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs ev)
    {
        var gifImage = obj as GifImage;
        gifImage.Source = gifImage._gifDecoder.Frames[(int)ev.NewValue];
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Defines whether the animation starts on it's own
    /// </summary>
    public bool AutoStart
    {
        get { return (bool)GetValue(AutoStartProperty); }
        set { SetValue(AutoStartProperty, value); }
    }

    public static readonly DependencyProperty AutoStartProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register("AutoStart", typeof(bool), typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(false, AutoStartPropertyChanged));

    private static void AutoStartPropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if ((bool)e.NewValue)
            (sender as GifImage).StartAnimation();
    }

    public string GifSource
    {
        get { return (string)GetValue(GifSourceProperty); }
        set { SetValue(GifSourceProperty, value); }
    }

    public static readonly DependencyProperty GifSourceProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register("GifSource", typeof(string), typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(string.Empty, GifSourcePropertyChanged));

    private static void GifSourcePropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        (sender as GifImage).Initialize();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Starts the animation
    /// </summary>
    public void StartAnimation()
    {
        if (!_isInitialized)
            this.Initialize();

        BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, _animation);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Stops the animation
    /// </summary>
    public void StopAnimation()
    {
        BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, null);
    }
}

Usage example (XAML):

<controls:GifImage x:Name="gifImage" Stretch="None" GifSource="/SomeImage.gif" AutoStart="True" />

I modified Mike Eshva's code,And I made it work better.You can use it with either 1frame jpg png bmp or mutil-frame gif.If you want bind a uri to the control,bind the UriSource properties or you want bind any in-memory stream that you bind the Source propertie which is a BitmapImage.

    /// <summary> 
/// ??????? ?????????? "???????????", ?????????????? ????????????? GIF. 
/// </summary> 
public class AnimatedImage : Image
{
    static AnimatedImage()
    {
        DefaultStyleKeyProperty.OverrideMetadata(typeof(AnimatedImage), new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(typeof(AnimatedImage)));
    }

    #region Public properties

    /// <summary> 
    /// ????????/????????????? ????? ???????? ?????. 
    /// </summary> 
    public int FrameIndex
    {
        get { return (int)GetValue(FrameIndexProperty); }
        set { SetValue(FrameIndexProperty, value); }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Get the BitmapFrame List.
    /// </summary>
    public List<BitmapFrame> Frames { get; private set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Get or set the repeatBehavior of the animation when source is gif formart.This is a dependency object.
    /// </summary>
    public RepeatBehavior AnimationRepeatBehavior
    {
        get { return (RepeatBehavior)GetValue(AnimationRepeatBehaviorProperty); }
        set { SetValue(AnimationRepeatBehaviorProperty, value); }
    }

    public new BitmapImage Source
    {
        get { return (BitmapImage)GetValue(SourceProperty); }
        set { SetValue(SourceProperty, value); }
    }

    public Uri UriSource
    {
        get { return (Uri)GetValue(UriSourceProperty); }
        set { SetValue(UriSourceProperty, value); }
    }

    #endregion

    #region Protected interface

    /// <summary> 
    /// Provides derived classes an opportunity to handle changes to the Source property. 
    /// </summary> 
    protected virtual void OnSourceChanged(DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        ClearAnimation();
        BitmapImage source;
        if (e.NewValue is Uri)
        {
            source = new BitmapImage();
            source.BeginInit();
            source.UriSource = e.NewValue as Uri;
            source.CacheOption = BitmapCacheOption.OnLoad;
            source.EndInit();
        }
        else if (e.NewValue is BitmapImage)
        {
            source = e.NewValue as BitmapImage;
        }
        else
        {
            return;
        }
        BitmapDecoder decoder;
        if (source.StreamSource != null)
        {
            decoder = BitmapDecoder.Create(source.StreamSource, BitmapCreateOptions.DelayCreation, BitmapCacheOption.OnLoad);
        }
        else if (source.UriSource != null)
        {
            decoder = BitmapDecoder.Create(source.UriSource, BitmapCreateOptions.DelayCreation, BitmapCacheOption.OnLoad);
        }
        else
        {
            return;
        }
        if (decoder.Frames.Count == 1)
        {
            base.Source = decoder.Frames[0];
            return;
        }

        this.Frames = decoder.Frames.ToList();

        PrepareAnimation();
    }

    #endregion

    #region Private properties

    private Int32Animation Animation { get; set; }
    private bool IsAnimationWorking { get; set; }

    #endregion

    #region Private methods

    private void ClearAnimation()
    {
        if (Animation != null)
        {
            BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, null);
        }

        IsAnimationWorking = false;
        Animation = null;
        this.Frames = null;
    }

    private void PrepareAnimation()
    {
        Animation =
            new Int32Animation(
                0,
                this.Frames.Count - 1,
                new Duration(
                    new TimeSpan(
                        0,
                        0,
                        0,
                        this.Frames.Count / 10,
                        (int)((this.Frames.Count / 10.0 - this.Frames.Count / 10) * 1000))))
            {
                RepeatBehavior = RepeatBehavior.Forever
            };

        base.Source = this.Frames[0];
        BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, Animation);
        IsAnimationWorking = true;
    }

    private static void ChangingFrameIndex
        (DependencyObject dp, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        AnimatedImage animatedImage = dp as AnimatedImage;

        if (animatedImage == null || !animatedImage.IsAnimationWorking)
        {
            return;
        }

        int frameIndex = (int)e.NewValue;
        ((Image)animatedImage).Source = animatedImage.Frames[frameIndex];
        animatedImage.InvalidateVisual();
    }

    /// <summary> 
    /// Handles changes to the Source property. 
    /// </summary> 
    private static void OnSourceChanged
        (DependencyObject dp, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        ((AnimatedImage)dp).OnSourceChanged(e);
    }

    #endregion

    #region Dependency Properties

    /// <summary> 
    /// FrameIndex Dependency Property 
    /// </summary> 
    public static readonly DependencyProperty FrameIndexProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            "FrameIndex",
            typeof(int),
            typeof(AnimatedImage),
            new UIPropertyMetadata(0, ChangingFrameIndex));

    /// <summary> 
    /// Source Dependency Property 
    /// </summary> 
    public new static readonly DependencyProperty SourceProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            "Source",
            typeof(BitmapImage),
            typeof(AnimatedImage),
            new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(
                null,
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender |
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsMeasure,
                OnSourceChanged));

    /// <summary>
    /// AnimationRepeatBehavior Dependency Property
    /// </summary>
    public static readonly DependencyProperty AnimationRepeatBehaviorProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
        "AnimationRepeatBehavior",
        typeof(RepeatBehavior),
        typeof(AnimatedImage),
        new PropertyMetadata(null));

    public static readonly DependencyProperty UriSourceProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
        "UriSource",
        typeof(Uri),
        typeof(AnimatedImage),
                new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(
                null,
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender |
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsMeasure,
                OnSourceChanged));

    #endregion
}

This is a custom control. You need to create it in WPF App Project,and delete the Template override in style.

An alternative to waiting animation in WPF is:

 <ProgressBar Height="20" Width="100" IsIndeterminate="True"/>

It will show an animated progress bar.

I couldn't get the most popular answer to this question (above by Dario) to work properly. The result was weird, choppy animation with weird artifacts. Best solution I have found so far: https://github.com/XamlAnimatedGif/WpfAnimatedGif

You can install it with NuGet

PM> Install-Package WpfAnimatedGif

and to use it, at a new namespace to the Window where you want to add the gif image and use it as below

<Window x:Class="MainWindow"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:gif="http://wpfanimatedgif.codeplex.com" <!-- THIS NAMESPACE -->
    Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">

<Grid>
    <!-- EXAMPLE USAGE BELOW -->
    <Image gif:ImageBehavior.AnimatedSource="Images/animated.gif" />

The package is really neat, you can set some attributes like below

<Image gif:ImageBehavior.RepeatBehavior="3x"
       gif:ImageBehavior.AnimatedSource="Images/animated.gif" />

and you can use it in your code as well:

var image = new BitmapImage();
image.BeginInit();
image.UriSource = new Uri(fileName);
image.EndInit();
ImageBehavior.SetAnimatedSource(img, image);

EDIT: Silverlight support

As per josh2112's comment if you want to add animated GIF support to your Silverlight project then use github.com/XamlAnimatedGif/XamlAnimatedGif

I, too, did a search and found several different solution in just a thread on the old MSDN forums. (link no longer worked so I removed it)

The simplest to execute seems to be to use a WinForms PictureBox control, and went like this (changed a few things from the thread, most of it the same).

Add a reference to System.Windows.Forms, WindowsFormsIntegration, and System.Drawing to your project first.

<Window x:Class="GifExample.Window1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:wfi="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms.Integration;assembly=WindowsFormsIntegration"
    xmlns:winForms="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms;assembly=System.Windows.Forms"
    Loaded="Window_Loaded" >
    <Grid>
        <wfi:WindowsFormsHost>
            <winForms:PictureBox x:Name="pictureBoxLoading">
            </winForms:PictureBox>
        </wfi:WindowsFormsHost>
    </Grid>
</Window >

Then in the Window_Loaded handler, you would set the pictureBoxLoading.ImageLocation property to the image file path that you want to show.

private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    pictureBoxLoading.ImageLocation = "../Images/mygif.gif";
}

The MediaElement control was mentioned in that thread, but it is also mentioned that it is a rather heavy control, so there were a number of alternatives, including at least 2 homebrewed controls based on the Image control, so this is the simplest.

Basically the same PictureBox solution above, but this time with the code-behind to use an Embedded Resource in your project:

In XAML:

<WindowsFormsHost x:Name="_loadingHost">
  <Forms:PictureBox x:Name="_loadingPictureBox"/>
</WindowsFormsHost>

In Code-Behind:

public partial class ProgressIcon
{
    public ProgressIcon()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        var stream = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream("My.Namespace.ProgressIcon.gif");
        var image = System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(stream);
        Loaded += (s, e) => _loadingPictureBox.Image = image;
    }
}

I use this library: https://github.com/XamlAnimatedGif/WpfAnimatedGif

First, install library into your project (using Package Manager Console):

    PM > Install-Package WpfAnimatedGif

Then, use this snippet into XAML file:

    <Window x:Class="WpfAnimatedGif.Demo.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:gif="http://wpfanimatedgif.codeplex.com"
        Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
        <Grid>
            <Image gif:ImageBehavior.AnimatedSource="Images/animated.gif" />
        ...

I hope helps.

Source: https://github.com/XamlAnimatedGif/WpfAnimatedGif

I post a solution extending the image control and using the Gif Decoder. The gif decoder has a frames property. I animate the FrameIndex property. The event ChangingFrameIndex changes the source property to the frame corresponding to the FrameIndex (that is in the decoder). I guess that the gif has 10 frames per second.

class GifImage : Image
{
    private bool _isInitialized;
    private GifBitmapDecoder _gifDecoder;
    private Int32Animation _animation;

    public int FrameIndex
    {
        get { return (int)GetValue(FrameIndexProperty); }
        set { SetValue(FrameIndexProperty, value); }
    }

    private void Initialize()
    {
        _gifDecoder = new GifBitmapDecoder(new Uri("pack://application:,,," + this.GifSource), BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat, BitmapCacheOption.Default);
        _animation = new Int32Animation(0, _gifDecoder.Frames.Count - 1, new Duration(new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, _gifDecoder.Frames.Count / 10, (int)((_gifDecoder.Frames.Count / 10.0 - _gifDecoder.Frames.Count / 10) * 1000))));
        _animation.RepeatBehavior = RepeatBehavior.Forever;
        this.Source = _gifDecoder.Frames[0];

        _isInitialized = true;
    }

    static GifImage()
    {
        VisibilityProperty.OverrideMetadata(typeof (GifImage),
            new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(VisibilityPropertyChanged));
    }

    private static void VisibilityPropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if ((Visibility)e.NewValue == Visibility.Visible)
        {
            ((GifImage)sender).StartAnimation();
        }
        else
        {
            ((GifImage)sender).StopAnimation();
        }
    }

    public static readonly DependencyProperty FrameIndexProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register("FrameIndex", typeof(int), typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(0, new PropertyChangedCallback(ChangingFrameIndex)));

    static void ChangingFrameIndex(DependencyObject obj, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs ev)
    {
        var gifImage = obj as GifImage;
        gifImage.Source = gifImage._gifDecoder.Frames[(int)ev.NewValue];
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Defines whether the animation starts on it's own
    /// </summary>
    public bool AutoStart
    {
        get { return (bool)GetValue(AutoStartProperty); }
        set { SetValue(AutoStartProperty, value); }
    }

    public static readonly DependencyProperty AutoStartProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register("AutoStart", typeof(bool), typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(false, AutoStartPropertyChanged));

    private static void AutoStartPropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        if ((bool)e.NewValue)
            (sender as GifImage).StartAnimation();
    }

    public string GifSource
    {
        get { return (string)GetValue(GifSourceProperty); }
        set { SetValue(GifSourceProperty, value); }
    }

    public static readonly DependencyProperty GifSourceProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register("GifSource", typeof(string), typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(string.Empty, GifSourcePropertyChanged));

    private static void GifSourcePropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        (sender as GifImage).Initialize();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Starts the animation
    /// </summary>
    public void StartAnimation()
    {
        if (!_isInitialized)
            this.Initialize();

        BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, _animation);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Stops the animation
    /// </summary>
    public void StopAnimation()
    {
        BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, null);
    }
}

Usage example (XAML):

<controls:GifImage x:Name="gifImage" Stretch="None" GifSource="/SomeImage.gif" AutoStart="True" />

I have try all the way above, but each one has their shortness, and thanks to all you, I work out my own GifImage:

    using System;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using System.Linq;
    using System.Text;
    using System.Windows.Controls;
    using System.Windows;
    using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;
    using System.IO;
    using System.Windows.Threading;

    namespace IEXM.Components
    {
    public class GifImage : Image
    {
            #region gif Source, such as "/IEXM;component/Images/Expression/f020.gif"
            public string GifSource
            {
                    get { return (string)GetValue(GifSourceProperty); }
                    set { SetValue(GifSourceProperty, value); }
            }

            public static readonly DependencyProperty GifSourceProperty =
                    DependencyProperty.Register("GifSource", typeof(string),
                    typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(null, GifSourcePropertyChanged));

            private static void GifSourcePropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender,
                    DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
            {
                    (sender as GifImage).Initialize();
            }
            #endregion

            #region control the animate
            /// <summary>
            /// Defines whether the animation starts on it's own
            /// </summary>
            public bool IsAutoStart
            {
                    get { return (bool)GetValue(AutoStartProperty); }
                    set { SetValue(AutoStartProperty, value); }
            }

            public static readonly DependencyProperty AutoStartProperty =
                    DependencyProperty.Register("IsAutoStart", typeof(bool),
                    typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(false, AutoStartPropertyChanged));

            private static void AutoStartPropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender,
                    DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
            {
                    if ((bool)e.NewValue)
                            (sender as GifImage).StartAnimation();
                    else
                            (sender as GifImage).StopAnimation();
            }
            #endregion

            private bool _isInitialized = false;
            private System.Drawing.Bitmap _bitmap;
            private BitmapSource _source;

            [System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
            public static extern bool DeleteObject(IntPtr hObject);

            private BitmapSource GetSource()
            {
                    if (_bitmap == null)
                    {
                            _bitmap = new System.Drawing.Bitmap(Application.GetResourceStream(
                                     new Uri(GifSource, UriKind.RelativeOrAbsolute)).Stream);
                    }

                    IntPtr handle = IntPtr.Zero;
                    handle = _bitmap.GetHbitmap();

                    BitmapSource bs = System.Windows.Interop.Imaging.CreateBitmapSourceFromHBitmap(
                            handle, IntPtr.Zero, Int32Rect.Empty, BitmapSizeOptions.FromEmptyOptions());
                    DeleteObject(handle);
                    return bs;
            }

            private void Initialize()
            {
            //        Console.WriteLine("Init: " + GifSource);
                    if (GifSource != null)
                            Source = GetSource();
                    _isInitialized = true;
            }

            private void FrameUpdatedCallback()
            {
                    System.Drawing.ImageAnimator.UpdateFrames();

                    if (_source != null)
                    {
                            _source.Freeze();
                    }

               _source = GetSource();

              //  Console.WriteLine("Working: " + GifSource);

                    Source = _source;
                    InvalidateVisual();
            }

            private void OnFrameChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
            {
                    Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(DispatcherPriority.Normal, new Action(FrameUpdatedCallback));
            }

            /// <summary>
            /// Starts the animation
            /// </summary>
            public void StartAnimation()
            {
                    if (!_isInitialized)
                            this.Initialize();


             //   Console.WriteLine("Start: " + GifSource);

                    System.Drawing.ImageAnimator.Animate(_bitmap, OnFrameChanged);
            }

            /// <summary>
            /// Stops the animation
            /// </summary>
            public void StopAnimation()
            {
                    _isInitialized = false;
                    if (_bitmap != null)
                    {
                            System.Drawing.ImageAnimator.StopAnimate(_bitmap, OnFrameChanged);
                            _bitmap.Dispose();
                            _bitmap = null;
                    }
                    _source = null;
                    Initialize();
                    GC.Collect();
                    GC.WaitForFullGCComplete();

             //   Console.WriteLine("Stop: " + GifSource);
            }

            public void Dispose()
            {
                    _isInitialized = false;
                    if (_bitmap != null)
                    {
                            System.Drawing.ImageAnimator.StopAnimate(_bitmap, OnFrameChanged);
                            _bitmap.Dispose();
                            _bitmap = null;
                    }
                    _source = null;
                    GC.Collect();
                    GC.WaitForFullGCComplete();
               // Console.WriteLine("Dispose: " + GifSource);
            }
    }
}

Usage:

<localComponents:GifImage x:Name="gifImage" IsAutoStart="True" GifSource="{Binding Path=value}" />

As it would not cause memory leak and it animated the gif image own time line, you can try it.

I modified Mike Eshva's code,And I made it work better.You can use it with either 1frame jpg png bmp or mutil-frame gif.If you want bind a uri to the control,bind the UriSource properties or you want bind any in-memory stream that you bind the Source propertie which is a BitmapImage.

    /// <summary> 
/// ??????? ?????????? "???????????", ?????????????? ????????????? GIF. 
/// </summary> 
public class AnimatedImage : Image
{
    static AnimatedImage()
    {
        DefaultStyleKeyProperty.OverrideMetadata(typeof(AnimatedImage), new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(typeof(AnimatedImage)));
    }

    #region Public properties

    /// <summary> 
    /// ????????/????????????? ????? ???????? ?????. 
    /// </summary> 
    public int FrameIndex
    {
        get { return (int)GetValue(FrameIndexProperty); }
        set { SetValue(FrameIndexProperty, value); }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Get the BitmapFrame List.
    /// </summary>
    public List<BitmapFrame> Frames { get; private set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Get or set the repeatBehavior of the animation when source is gif formart.This is a dependency object.
    /// </summary>
    public RepeatBehavior AnimationRepeatBehavior
    {
        get { return (RepeatBehavior)GetValue(AnimationRepeatBehaviorProperty); }
        set { SetValue(AnimationRepeatBehaviorProperty, value); }
    }

    public new BitmapImage Source
    {
        get { return (BitmapImage)GetValue(SourceProperty); }
        set { SetValue(SourceProperty, value); }
    }

    public Uri UriSource
    {
        get { return (Uri)GetValue(UriSourceProperty); }
        set { SetValue(UriSourceProperty, value); }
    }

    #endregion

    #region Protected interface

    /// <summary> 
    /// Provides derived classes an opportunity to handle changes to the Source property. 
    /// </summary> 
    protected virtual void OnSourceChanged(DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        ClearAnimation();
        BitmapImage source;
        if (e.NewValue is Uri)
        {
            source = new BitmapImage();
            source.BeginInit();
            source.UriSource = e.NewValue as Uri;
            source.CacheOption = BitmapCacheOption.OnLoad;
            source.EndInit();
        }
        else if (e.NewValue is BitmapImage)
        {
            source = e.NewValue as BitmapImage;
        }
        else
        {
            return;
        }
        BitmapDecoder decoder;
        if (source.StreamSource != null)
        {
            decoder = BitmapDecoder.Create(source.StreamSource, BitmapCreateOptions.DelayCreation, BitmapCacheOption.OnLoad);
        }
        else if (source.UriSource != null)
        {
            decoder = BitmapDecoder.Create(source.UriSource, BitmapCreateOptions.DelayCreation, BitmapCacheOption.OnLoad);
        }
        else
        {
            return;
        }
        if (decoder.Frames.Count == 1)
        {
            base.Source = decoder.Frames[0];
            return;
        }

        this.Frames = decoder.Frames.ToList();

        PrepareAnimation();
    }

    #endregion

    #region Private properties

    private Int32Animation Animation { get; set; }
    private bool IsAnimationWorking { get; set; }

    #endregion

    #region Private methods

    private void ClearAnimation()
    {
        if (Animation != null)
        {
            BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, null);
        }

        IsAnimationWorking = false;
        Animation = null;
        this.Frames = null;
    }

    private void PrepareAnimation()
    {
        Animation =
            new Int32Animation(
                0,
                this.Frames.Count - 1,
                new Duration(
                    new TimeSpan(
                        0,
                        0,
                        0,
                        this.Frames.Count / 10,
                        (int)((this.Frames.Count / 10.0 - this.Frames.Count / 10) * 1000))))
            {
                RepeatBehavior = RepeatBehavior.Forever
            };

        base.Source = this.Frames[0];
        BeginAnimation(FrameIndexProperty, Animation);
        IsAnimationWorking = true;
    }

    private static void ChangingFrameIndex
        (DependencyObject dp, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        AnimatedImage animatedImage = dp as AnimatedImage;

        if (animatedImage == null || !animatedImage.IsAnimationWorking)
        {
            return;
        }

        int frameIndex = (int)e.NewValue;
        ((Image)animatedImage).Source = animatedImage.Frames[frameIndex];
        animatedImage.InvalidateVisual();
    }

    /// <summary> 
    /// Handles changes to the Source property. 
    /// </summary> 
    private static void OnSourceChanged
        (DependencyObject dp, DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        ((AnimatedImage)dp).OnSourceChanged(e);
    }

    #endregion

    #region Dependency Properties

    /// <summary> 
    /// FrameIndex Dependency Property 
    /// </summary> 
    public static readonly DependencyProperty FrameIndexProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            "FrameIndex",
            typeof(int),
            typeof(AnimatedImage),
            new UIPropertyMetadata(0, ChangingFrameIndex));

    /// <summary> 
    /// Source Dependency Property 
    /// </summary> 
    public new static readonly DependencyProperty SourceProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
            "Source",
            typeof(BitmapImage),
            typeof(AnimatedImage),
            new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(
                null,
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender |
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsMeasure,
                OnSourceChanged));

    /// <summary>
    /// AnimationRepeatBehavior Dependency Property
    /// </summary>
    public static readonly DependencyProperty AnimationRepeatBehaviorProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
        "AnimationRepeatBehavior",
        typeof(RepeatBehavior),
        typeof(AnimatedImage),
        new PropertyMetadata(null));

    public static readonly DependencyProperty UriSourceProperty =
        DependencyProperty.Register(
        "UriSource",
        typeof(Uri),
        typeof(AnimatedImage),
                new FrameworkPropertyMetadata(
                null,
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsRender |
                FrameworkPropertyMetadataOptions.AffectsMeasure,
                OnSourceChanged));

    #endregion
}

This is a custom control. You need to create it in WPF App Project,and delete the Template override in style.

Thanks for your post Joel, it helped me solve WPF's absence of support for animated GIFs. Just adding a little code since I had a heck of a time with setting the pictureBoxLoading.Image property due to the Winforms api.

I had to set my animated gif image's Build Action as "Content" and the Copy to output directory to "Copy if newer" or "always". Then in the MainWindow() I called this method. Only issue is that when I tried to dispose of the stream, it gave me a red envelope graphic instead of my image. I'll have to solve that problem. This removed the pain of loading a BitmapImage and changing it into a Bitmap (which obviously killed my animation because it is no longer a gif).

private void SetupProgressIcon()
{
   Uri uri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/WPFTest;component/Images/animated_progress_apple.gif");
   if (uri != null)
   {
      Stream stream = Application.GetContentStream(uri).Stream;   
      imgProgressBox.Image = new System.Drawing.Bitmap(stream);
   }
}

I, too, did a search and found several different solution in just a thread on the old MSDN forums. (link no longer worked so I removed it)

The simplest to execute seems to be to use a WinForms PictureBox control, and went like this (changed a few things from the thread, most of it the same).

Add a reference to System.Windows.Forms, WindowsFormsIntegration, and System.Drawing to your project first.

<Window x:Class="GifExample.Window1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:wfi="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms.Integration;assembly=WindowsFormsIntegration"
    xmlns:winForms="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Forms;assembly=System.Windows.Forms"
    Loaded="Window_Loaded" >
    <Grid>
        <wfi:WindowsFormsHost>
            <winForms:PictureBox x:Name="pictureBoxLoading">
            </winForms:PictureBox>
        </wfi:WindowsFormsHost>
    </Grid>
</Window >

Then in the Window_Loaded handler, you would set the pictureBoxLoading.ImageLocation property to the image file path that you want to show.

private void Window_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    pictureBoxLoading.ImageLocation = "../Images/mygif.gif";
}

The MediaElement control was mentioned in that thread, but it is also mentioned that it is a rather heavy control, so there were a number of alternatives, including at least 2 homebrewed controls based on the Image control, so this is the simplest.

Check my code, I hope this helped you :)

         public async Task GIF_Animation_Pro(string FileName,int speed,bool _Repeat)
                    {
    int ab=0;
                        var gif = GifBitmapDecoder.Create(new Uri(FileName), BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat, BitmapCacheOption.Default);
                        var getFrames = gif.Frames;
                        BitmapFrame[] frames = getFrames.ToArray();
                        await Task.Run(() =>
                        {


                            while (ab < getFrames.Count())
                            {
                                Thread.Sleep(speed);
try
{
                                Dispatcher.Invoke(() =>
                                {
                                    gifImage.Source = frames[ab];
                                });
                                if (ab == getFrames.Count - 1&&_Repeat)
                                {
                                    ab = 0;

                                }
                                ab++;
            }
 catch
{
}

                            }
                        });
                    }

or

     public async Task GIF_Animation_Pro(Stream stream, int speed,bool _Repeat)
            {
 int ab = 0;   
                var gif = GifBitmapDecoder.Create(stream , BitmapCreateOptions.PreservePixelFormat, BitmapCacheOption.Default);
                var getFrames = gif.Frames;
                BitmapFrame[] frames = getFrames.ToArray();
                await Task.Run(() =>
                {


                    while (ab < getFrames.Count())
                    {
                        Thread.Sleep(speed);
    try
    {


                     Dispatcher.Invoke(() =>
                        {
                            gifImage.Source = frames[ab];
                        });
                        if (ab == getFrames.Count - 1&&_Repeat)
                        {
                            ab = 0;

                        }
                        ab++;
    }
     catch{} 



                    }
                });
            }

Its very simple if you use <MediaElement>:

<MediaElement  Height="113" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="12,12,0,0" 
Name="mediaElement1" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="198" Source="C:\Users\abc.gif"
LoadedBehavior="Play" Stretch="Fill" SpeedRatio="1" IsMuted="False" />

I have try all the way above, but each one has their shortness, and thanks to all you, I work out my own GifImage:

    using System;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using System.Linq;
    using System.Text;
    using System.Windows.Controls;
    using System.Windows;
    using System.Windows.Media.Imaging;
    using System.IO;
    using System.Windows.Threading;

    namespace IEXM.Components
    {
    public class GifImage : Image
    {
            #region gif Source, such as "/IEXM;component/Images/Expression/f020.gif"
            public string GifSource
            {
                    get { return (string)GetValue(GifSourceProperty); }
                    set { SetValue(GifSourceProperty, value); }
            }

            public static readonly DependencyProperty GifSourceProperty =
                    DependencyProperty.Register("GifSource", typeof(string),
                    typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(null, GifSourcePropertyChanged));

            private static void GifSourcePropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender,
                    DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
            {
                    (sender as GifImage).Initialize();
            }
            #endregion

            #region control the animate
            /// <summary>
            /// Defines whether the animation starts on it's own
            /// </summary>
            public bool IsAutoStart
            {
                    get { return (bool)GetValue(AutoStartProperty); }
                    set { SetValue(AutoStartProperty, value); }
            }

            public static readonly DependencyProperty AutoStartProperty =
                    DependencyProperty.Register("IsAutoStart", typeof(bool),
                    typeof(GifImage), new UIPropertyMetadata(false, AutoStartPropertyChanged));

            private static void AutoStartPropertyChanged(DependencyObject sender,
                    DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs e)
            {
                    if ((bool)e.NewValue)
                            (sender as GifImage).StartAnimation();
                    else
                            (sender as GifImage).StopAnimation();
            }
            #endregion

            private bool _isInitialized = false;
            private System.Drawing.Bitmap _bitmap;
            private BitmapSource _source;

            [System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("gdi32.dll")]
            public static extern bool DeleteObject(IntPtr hObject);

            private BitmapSource GetSource()
            {
                    if (_bitmap == null)
                    {
                            _bitmap = new System.Drawing.Bitmap(Application.GetResourceStream(
                                     new Uri(GifSource, UriKind.RelativeOrAbsolute)).Stream);
                    }

                    IntPtr handle = IntPtr.Zero;
                    handle = _bitmap.GetHbitmap();

                    BitmapSource bs = System.Windows.Interop.Imaging.CreateBitmapSourceFromHBitmap(
                            handle, IntPtr.Zero, Int32Rect.Empty, BitmapSizeOptions.FromEmptyOptions());
                    DeleteObject(handle);
                    return bs;
            }

            private void Initialize()
            {
            //        Console.WriteLine("Init: " + GifSource);
                    if (GifSource != null)
                            Source = GetSource();
                    _isInitialized = true;
            }

            private void FrameUpdatedCallback()
            {
                    System.Drawing.ImageAnimator.UpdateFrames();

                    if (_source != null)
                    {
                            _source.Freeze();
                    }

               _source = GetSource();

              //  Console.WriteLine("Working: " + GifSource);

                    Source = _source;
                    InvalidateVisual();
            }

            private void OnFrameChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
            {
                    Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(DispatcherPriority.Normal, new Action(FrameUpdatedCallback));
            }

            /// <summary>
            /// Starts the animation
            /// </summary>
            public void StartAnimation()
            {
                    if (!_isInitialized)
                            this.Initialize();


             //   Console.WriteLine("Start: " + GifSource);

                    System.Drawing.ImageAnimator.Animate(_bitmap, OnFrameChanged);
            }

            /// <summary>
            /// Stops the animation
            /// </summary>
            public void StopAnimation()
            {
                    _isInitialized = false;
                    if (_bitmap != null)
                    {
                            System.Drawing.ImageAnimator.StopAnimate(_bitmap, OnFrameChanged);
                            _bitmap.Dispose();
                            _bitmap = null;
                    }
                    _source = null;
                    Initialize();
                    GC.Collect();
                    GC.WaitForFullGCComplete();

             //   Console.WriteLine("Stop: " + GifSource);
            }

            public void Dispose()
            {
                    _isInitialized = false;
                    if (_bitmap != null)
                    {
                            System.Drawing.ImageAnimator.StopAnimate(_bitmap, OnFrameChanged);
                            _bitmap.Dispose();
                            _bitmap = null;
                    }
                    _source = null;
                    GC.Collect();
                    GC.WaitForFullGCComplete();
               // Console.WriteLine("Dispose: " + GifSource);
            }
    }
}

Usage:

<localComponents:GifImage x:Name="gifImage" IsAutoStart="True" GifSource="{Binding Path=value}" />

As it would not cause memory leak and it animated the gif image own time line, you can try it.

Adding on to the main response that recommends the usage of WpfAnimatedGif, you must add the following lines in the end if you are swapping an image with a Gif to ensure the animation actually executes:

ImageBehavior.SetRepeatBehavior(img, new RepeatBehavior(0));
ImageBehavior.SetRepeatBehavior(img, RepeatBehavior.Forever);

So your code will look like:

var image = new BitmapImage();
image.BeginInit();
image.UriSource = new Uri(fileName);
image.EndInit();
ImageBehavior.SetAnimatedSource(img, image);
ImageBehavior.SetRepeatBehavior(img, new RepeatBehavior(0));
ImageBehavior.SetRepeatBehavior(img, RepeatBehavior.Forever);

I couldn't get the most popular answer to this question (above by Dario) to work properly. The result was weird, choppy animation with weird artifacts. Best solution I have found so far: https://github.com/XamlAnimatedGif/WpfAnimatedGif

You can install it with NuGet

PM> Install-Package WpfAnimatedGif

and to use it, at a new namespace to the Window where you want to add the gif image and use it as below

<Window x:Class="MainWindow"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:gif="http://wpfanimatedgif.codeplex.com" <!-- THIS NAMESPACE -->
    Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">

<Grid>
    <!-- EXAMPLE USAGE BELOW -->
    <Image gif:ImageBehavior.AnimatedSource="Images/animated.gif" />

The package is really neat, you can set some attributes like below

<Image gif:ImageBehavior.RepeatBehavior="3x"
       gif:ImageBehavior.AnimatedSource="Images/animated.gif" />

and you can use it in your code as well:

var image = new BitmapImage();
image.BeginInit();
image.UriSource = new Uri(fileName);
image.EndInit();
ImageBehavior.SetAnimatedSource(img, image);

EDIT: Silverlight support

As per josh2112's comment if you want to add animated GIF support to your Silverlight project then use github.com/XamlAnimatedGif/XamlAnimatedGif