Help / Pasting GIFs & upload methods

Why Does Pasting a GIF Lose Its Animation?

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If you right-click an animated GIF on a website, click "Copy Image", and paste it into Ezgif, it turns into a still, static picture.

Why this happens

When you use "Copy Image" in a web browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox), the browser does not copy the original GIF file. It only takes a screenshot of the single frame currently showing on your screen and puts that static image onto your clipboard.

Because the other animation frames are never copied, pasting it anywhere only gives you a still picture. This also happens with animated WebP, APNG, and AVIF images.

The fix: Copy or drag the file from your computer

If you save the file to your computer first, the animation is fully preserved:

  1. Right-click the GIF in your browser and choose "Save image as..." to download it.
  2. Then upload it using either method:
    • Drag and drop: Drag the file straight from your folder (or your browser's downloads bar) and drop it onto the Ezgif upload box.
    • Copy and paste: Click the saved file in your folder, press Ctrl+C (or Cmd+C on Mac), switch to Ezgif, and press Ctrl+V.

Because you are using the actual file, Ezgif gets all animation frames and timing intact.

Even easier: You can also right-click the GIF in your browser, choose "Copy image address", and paste the URL into Ezgif!

All ways to upload files to Ezgif

Ezgif supports several quick ways to upload images and videos:

  • Paste from clipboard (Ctrl+V / Cmd+V):
    • Files: Copy any file from your computer folder and paste it directly onto the page.
    • URLs: Copy any image link (starting with http:// or https://) and paste it anywhere on the page. Ezgif will detect the link and start uploading automatically.
    • Screenshots: Take a screenshot (PrintScreen, Snipping Tool, or Cmd+Shift+4) and paste it directly.
  • Choose File button: Click the upload box to browse files on your computer. On tools like the GIF maker, you can select multiple files at once or upload a ZIP file.
  • Drag and drop: Drag one or more files from your desktop, folder, or browser downloads bar and drop them directly onto the upload box.
  • Paste a URL: Paste a direct link to any online image or video into the "Or enter direct image URL" box and click Upload!.
  • Switch tools without re-uploading: After editing an image, look below the output. Click any tool button (Crop, Resize, Optimize, etc.) to pass the image straight into that tool without downloading and re-uploading.
  • Mobile devices: On phones and tablets, tap the upload box to pick files from your photo library, files app, or camera.

Note: Maximum file size is 200 MB. For privacy, all uploaded files are automatically deleted after 1 hour.