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Format

Microsoft Animated Cursor Format

Summary

Name
Microsoft Animated Cursor Format
Identifiers
PUID: fmt/386
Format type
Image (Raster)
Description
Animated Cursor Format (ANI), also known as Windows NT Animated Cursor, is a chunk-based bitmap format developed by Microsoft, based on the generic Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) specification developed by Microsoft and IBM. Structurally, an ANI file is composed of a number of chunks, each comprising a four character code chunk identifier, the chunk size, and the chunk data. It comprises a RIFF header with an ANI data type identifier, followed by a series of chunks which contain two or more bitmaps stored in an ANI file. Each bitmap is typically either a Windows cursor or icon data, but may also be raw, uncompressed bitmaps. Additional information stored in the ANI file controls the rate and the sequence in which each frame is displayed. Furthe information regarding this and other RIFF formats can be found at http://oreilly.com/www/centers/gff/formats/micriff/
File extensions
ani
Source
Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives

Relationships

Has priority over

Internal signatures

Microsoft Animated Cursor Format

Note
Header: RIFF (4 bytes) ACON (variable length byte sequence) anih, then length of subchunck (32) minus 8 followed by HeaderSize is the size of the subchunk data (all the bytes appearing after the Size field) in bytes. Followed by LIST (4 bytes) framicon

Byte sequences

Min Frag Length
Absolute from BOF
Offset
0
Max offset
None
Byte Sequence
52494646{4}41434F4E{0-*}616E69682400000024000000[!00]*4C495354{4}6672616D69636F6E
Endianness
None

Changelog

  • Updated in V114

    Release date
    22 August 2023

    Microsoft Animated Cursor Format: Added priority over fmt/1886. Submitted by New York Public Libraries and Preservica.

  • Added in V55

    Release date
    4 January 2012

    Microsoft Animated Cursor Format: Signature developed through PRONOM Research.

    Microsoft Animated Cursor Format: Partial entry added.