Can't help you with #1 or 3, but as far as #2 goes, there are some free gif animators out there. A couple of years ago I download a program called GIF Construction Set (32-bit)by Alchemy Mindworks Inc. It's a pretty good little program and real easy to use. At the time it was a shareware program but I'm not sure if it is anymore, but I'm sure it would be easy to find out. One more thing, check out CNET's sites shareware.com and dowload.com, they have a multimedia and design sections with free stuff and trial versions. I'm sure you will be able to find something there. Hope this helps. Autoloader