How to use
- Open bars-32x16.png.
- Expect one GIF frame at 32 by 16.
- Expect a photograph to posterise when it is reduced to 256 colours.
Formula / how it works
bars-32x16.png becomes a single-frame GIF, still 32 by 16. The colours are quantised to at most 256. These bars use two colours, so the palette is not the interesting part. A photograph will posterise. The page says so. It does not build an animation, a delay, or a loop. One frame, one download.
The encoder is gifenc in the browser, not a server. The pixel size is unchanged. If you needed the PNG's full colour, keep the PNG. A GIF is the right output when an old page or a sticker slot wants that container and can live with the palette.
Use GIF to PNG to come back to a single frame without the GIF wrapper.
bars-32x16.png becomes one GIF frame at 32 by 16. The palette holds at most 256 colours. Two flat colours do not show the posterising a photograph will see. There is no delay and no loop, because there is nothing to delay. gifenc runs in the tab. The grid does not change. Keep the PNG when the full colour matters. Unwrap the frame later with GIF to PNG if the GIF wrapper was only for a slot that demanded it.
A sticker slot that wants a GIF gets one frame of the bars, 32 by 16, with a palette of at most 256 colours. Two colours look fine. A sunset will band, and that is the reason to keep the PNG when the colour is the point. There is no timing track because there is no second frame. gifenc did the encode in the tab. The PNG you started with is unchanged on disk.
One frame, 32 by 16, at most 256 colours, no loop. The bars use two colours and look unchanged. A photograph can band, which is why the PNG is the file to keep when colour is the point. gifenc runs in the tab. There is no delay track. The source PNG is not overwritten. GIF to PNG unwraps the frame later if the GIF was only for a slot that demanded that container.
Keep the PNG when a photograph starts to band. The GIF of the bars is one frame at 32 by 16 and two colours survive easily. A sunset will not. There is no second frame to time. If the slot only wanted the GIF wrapper, you can unwrap it later. The PNG on disk is still the full-colour file. The GIF of the bars is one frame at 32 by 16. Two colours survive. A photograph may band. That difference is why the PNG stays until you have looked at the picture you actually converted. The bars GIF is one frame and it does not band. A photograph might. Look at the GIF before you throw the PNG away, and keep the PNG when the bands bother you. The bars icon does not band at 256 colours. A sunset photograph might, and that is the moment to keep the PNG.
Unwrap one frame later with GIF to PNG.
Worked examples
Bars PNG as one GIF frame
Inputs: n2g-f: bars-32x16.png
On this page, take bars-32x16.png and press Convert. The palette stops at 256 colours and there is no loop.
Result: PNG to GIF: 32×16. 0.1 KB
Bars PNG as one GIF frame again
Inputs: n2g-f: bars-32x16.png
On this page, take bars-32x16.png and press Convert. The palette stops at 256 colours and there is no loop.
Result: PNG to GIF: 32×16. 0.1 KB
Use cases
- Making a single-frame GIF of the flat bars.
- Accepting a 256-colour palette.
- Refusing to pretend this builds an animation.
- Keeping the pixel grid.
Tips & limitations
- Two colours do not stress a 256-colour palette. A photo will.
- There is no delay and no loop.
- The encoder runs in the browser.
- Come back with GIF to PNG if you want the frame without the GIF wrapper.
FAQ
Is the GIF animated?
No. One frame of bars-32x16.png, 32 by 16.
How many colours?
At most 256. These bars use two.
Will a photo look banded?
It can. The page quantises. Keep the PNG if the full colour matters.
Is there a frame delay?
No. There is only one frame, so a delay would do nothing.
Does the grid change?
No. 32 by 16 stays 32 by 16.
Is the PNG uploaded?
No. gifenc runs in the tab.
The single-frame GIF is bars-32x16.png. It is not an animation and it is not a full-colour photograph.